Judging by Mario Balotelli’s time at Liverpool, it would be a fair assumption that the Premier League has seen the last of the controversial striker.
It’s difficult to imagine any club wanting to take a chance on the Italian, who is now at Nice.
The forward’s antics weren’t restricted to his time at Anfield, either, as Manchester City endured countless problems with him.
Yet, his agent Mino Raiola – who also represents the likes of Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, all genuinely world-class players – has made a promise, or a warning, however you choose to interpret it.
Balotelli is going to be back in the Premier League before we know it.
“If he proves he can become stable at Nice and score goals then imagine how attractive he would be to a Premier League manager next summer as a free agent,” Raiola told the Daily Mail.
“He is good for the league but he will absolutely return to the Premier League.
“What would a real manager rather do? Gamble £100m on a striker or take Balotelli? Because no one can tell me he is not a world-class talent.”
The fact that he will be available on a free does make him a slightly more attractive proposition, but any manager would surely weigh up whether Balotelli is more trouble than he’s worth.
Even managers like Jose Mourinho haven’t been able to tame his wild ways, so it would certainly take a pretty confident manager to take him on.
Of course, it all depends on how he turns out at Nice. Balotelli has been in among the goals so far, but he’s also been dropped once already. All the same, you get the feeling his Premier League story isn’t over just yet.
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