Indian Super League club reject chance to sign former Manchester City star Mario Balotelli: Reports
Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli's stock continues to plummet. Indian Super League (ISL) side Kerala Blasters have reportedly turned down the chance to sign the Italian.
The 34-year-old is a free agent after his stint with Super Lig side Adana Demirspor ended after just one season. According to reports in the Times of India, Balotelli was being considered by the Blasters.
The ISL outfit, however, rejected the chance to sign the forward.
Balotelli will look for a route back to mainstream football after the snub.
Why Kerala Blasters decided against signing the former Manchester City forward
The report states that the club opted against signing Balotelli for two reasons. Firstly, the Blasters were intimidated by the Italian's standing in world football, which led them to think the possibility of signing him was unrealistic.
Secondly, the controversies on and off the field surrounding the former Manchester City forward. Balotelli's chaotic career has caused him to deal with several disciplinary issues, having kicked up a storm at nearly every club he has been in.
Most recently, Balotelli, playing for Adana Demirspor, threw a firecracker at his teammates in the club dressing room as a prank. He also played the 'firecracker prank' during his time with Manchester City.
Micah Richards, his former City teammate, recalled when Balotelli's house caught fire after firecrackers exploded in the bathroom on the eve of their derby with Manchester United. Although the Cityzens won the match 6-1 with Balotelli revealing an undershirt with the message 'Why Always Me?' after scoring, the headlines were about the incident at the Italian's home.
Richards told SPORTbible in 2019:
"He [Balotelli] actually came to my house a couple of weeks before the fireworks incident and he set some off again in my house. I was like: 'You know you can't do this? What's going through your mind?'"
"He just thinks everything is funny. That's why I like him so much. He doesn't take life too seriously," the footballer-turned-pundit spoke about the psyche of his former Manchester City teammate.
Balotelli, who has played for both Milan clubs, Liverpool, and Nice before his stint in Turkey recently, has a serial record of disciplinary issues. This has reportedly led to Kerala Blasters rejecting the chance to sign Mario Balotelli.
He is currently nursing a knee injury and remains a free agent after his second stint with Adana Demirspor.