Mario Barwuah Balotelli made his professional debut on 2 April 2006 for Lumezzane, in a Serie C1 match against Padova, before he had turned 16. The forward was born in Palermo on 12 August 1990 to Ghanaian immigrants. He grew up in Concesio, in the province of Brescia, with his foster parents Silvia and Francesco Balotelli, whose surname he took. His career took in Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan, Liverpool, Nice and Marseille, among other clubs. For the Italy national team he won 36 caps and scored 14 goals.
He came through the youth ranks at Lumezzane, a club near Brescia. In 2006 he moved to Inter, starting in the youth side. On 16 December 2007 he made his Serie A debut, coming on for David Suazo in a 2-0 win over Cagliari. He was in the squads that won the Italian league titles of 2007-08 and 2008-09, as well as the 2008 Supercoppa Italiana. In 2009-10, with José Mourinho as coach, Inter won Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League. Balotelli was part of that 2010 treble.
Manchester City and the Premier League
On 12 August 2010, Inter and Manchester City agreed a deal for his transfer. That December he received the Golden Boy award, which the newspaper Tuttosport gives to under-21 players at European clubs. On 14 May 2011 he won the FA Cup after a 1-0 victory over Stoke City at Wembley. On 23 October 2011 he scored twice in City's 6-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. After the first goal he revealed an undershirt bearing the words «Why always me». In 2011-12 City won the Premier League, their first English title since 1968. On the final day, 13 May 2012 against Queens Park Rangers, he set up the Sergio Agüero goal that decided the title.
Italy national team
He made his Italy debut on 10 August 2010, in a friendly against Ivory Coast that ended in a 1-0 defeat. At Euro 2012 he scored both goals in the 2-1 semi-final win over Germany on 28 June, each of them before the 40th minute. Italy lost the final 4-0 to Spain. At the 2014 World Cup, on 14 June, he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 group-stage victory over England. Between 2010 and 2018 he won 36 caps and scored 14 goals.
AC Milan and Liverpool
AC Milan announced his signing on 29 January 2013, and the deal went through two days later. In August 2014 he joined Liverpool. He made his debut on 31 August in a 3-0 win at Tottenham's White Hart Lane. He never established himself at Anfield, and on 27 August 2015 he went back to Milan on a season-long loan for 2015-16.
France: Nice and Marseille
On 31 August 2016 he joined Nice on a free transfer. By 10 March 2017 he had reached ten Ligue 1 goals in his first season, and in 2017-18 he scored 18 league goals. Between 2016 and 2019 he played 61 league games for the Riviera club and scored 33 goals. On 23 January 2019 he moved to Olympique de Marseille. He made his debut two days later against Lille and finished that half-season with 8 goals in 15 games.
From Brescia to Dubai
On 18 August 2019 he signed for Brescia, the club of the city where he grew up, and scored 5 goals in 19 Serie A games in 2019-20. On 7 December 2020 he joined Serie B side Monza. He made his debut on 30 December in a 3-0 win over Salernitana and ended the campaign with 5 goals in 12 games. On 7 July 2021 he moved to Turkey with Adana Demirspor and scored 18 goals in the 2021-22 Süper Lig. On 31 August 2022 he signed for Swiss club Sion, scoring 6 goals in 18 games. On 15 September 2023 he went back to Adana Demirspor and scored 7 goals in 16 games in 2023-24. On 28 October 2024 he joined Genoa until the end of the season. He made his debut on 4 November in a 1-0 win over Parma and played six games without scoring. In January 2026 he signed for Dubai club Al-Ittifaq, in the second tier of the United Arab Emirates. He scored his first goal for them on 7 February 2026, in a 3-1 win over Gulf United.
IttifaqForward