Mario Balotelli makes 12th transfer of career as he joins up with Man Utd hero

16 September 2023 , 12:02

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Mario Balotelli has re-joined Adana Demirspor (Image: Adana Demirspor)

Mario Balotelli has re-joined Turkish side Adana Demirspor after seeing his contract terminated by Swiss club Sion.

Balotelli, 33, has lived a journeyman lifestyle throughout his tumultuous career, moving all around Europe, often after burning bridges through his behaviour. Most recently he found himself playing in Switzerland, but his stint is now over just a year into his stay at Sion.

Following a typically chaotic year, which involved injuries and behavioural problems, Sion decided to terminate his two-year contract early. He has left having scored six goals in 19 appearances and has been taken on by Demirspor once more, racking up the 12th move of his career.

“Everything was resolved in a very courteous manner with Mario. The document that we prepared is now in the hands of our lawyers who must complete it,” club president Christian Constantin told Le Nouvel Liste. “Rather than talking about money issues, I would have preferred him to score the goals we hoped for. That said, it’s time to move on.”

Balotelli did not have to wait long for a new club, though, with Demirspor snapping him up straight away. The Italy striker played for the club in the 2021/22 season, banging in 18 goals in 33 Super Lig matches.

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There is still plenty of goodwill towards Balotelli, who managed a five-goal haul against Goztepe in the final match of the season before heading for Sion. He has already been pictured in training with Adana Demirspor, who are 10th in the Super Lig after winning one of their opening three games. His return to Turkey sees him join up with former Manchester United winger Nani, who joined Demirspor from Melbourne Victory in July.

The return to Turkey will be a far cry from his experience in Switzerland over the past few months, where he has been forced to train alone by Sion. Even judged by his standards, Balotelli’s time at Sion was marred by non-football issues.

Balotelli was given a one-game ban for swearing at Basel fans and for writing on Instagram that the Swiss league was "corrupt" and "a mafia". He was also pictured partying the night before a game and was subsequently dropped.

After missing other games through injury, he fell out of favour and has not played since May 13, when he was replaced at half-time during a 5-0 loss against Servette. Sion were relegated from the top flight in Switzerland and have now cut their losses.

Demirspor will hope they can get the best out of the mercurial Italian, who has plied his trade at Manchester City, Liverpool, Inter Milan and AC Milan, among others. He returns to football having failed to make a good impression on his punditry debut for BT Sport at the Champions League final in June.

Felix Keith