Balotelli signs for Brescia

MILAN: Mario Balotelli will return to Italy with home town team Brescia after it was confirmed on Sunday he has signed for the newly-promoted club.The Italian forward has penned a “multi-year contract” and will be officially presented on Monday, the northern team confirmed on their website.

“Mario returns home,” Brescia said in a statement.“The return to Italy, after three years, was made possible by Mario’s determination and enthusiasm to return to Brescia, the city where he grew up and where, since he was a child, he stood out for his physical and technical skills,” the club continued. Balotelli, who was born in Sicily but adopted and raised just outside Brescia, has reportedly agreed a three-year deal with the Serie B champions after being released by Marseille in June.

“Finally back in MY CITY,” Balotelli posted on social media along with a video collage of photos and clips of different moments of his career. Balotelli made his debut in local team Lumezzane in Serie C as a 16-year-old, before moving to Serie A giants Inter Milan in 2007.However, Balotelli’s debut in the Brescia shirt is not imminent as the striker has to serve a four-match ban and his return could be on September 25 against Juventus.