Mario Balotelli set to join surprise 13th club after period as a free agent

Martin Macdonald

• 8 Jan 2026 05:01 CST
• 2 min read

Nieuws

Mario Balotelli is set to continue his football career in the Middle East.

The Italian has had a journeyman career over the last few years and Al-Ittifaq FC in Dubai will be the 13th club he has played for.

In his career, he has featured for...Lumezzane, Inter, Man City, Milan, Liverpool, Nice, Marseille, Brescia, Monza, Adana Demirspor, Sion, Genoa and will now play for Al-Ittifaq.

Once the prodigy of Italian football, Balotelli is known just as much for his antics off the pitch as for his exploits on it.

After emerging as a talent with Inter, he eventually moved to the Premier League with Man City before spells with Liverpool and Milan.

He is probably best known for his time in the Premier League but in his career he actually made the most league appearances for Nice in Ligue 1.

Most recently, he had an underwhelming spell at Genoa. He made just six appearances for the club and all off them came off the bench, while he failed to score a goal and was booked twice.

He hasn't played a competitive match since December of 2024 and was released by Genoa in the summer which has opened the door for the upcoming switch to Dubai.

An agreement was made with Al-Ittifaq on 7 January and he is expected to put pen to paper and a two-and-a-half year deal on Friday.

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