Mario Balotelli ‘blamed’ Patrick Vieira for Nice exit in 2019

Published at :April 4, 2024 at 11:09 PM

Modified at :April 4, 2024 at 11:10 PM

The Italian striker is currently playing for Turkish team Adana Demirspor

Mario Balotelli discussed his move away from OGC Nice in an interview with SO Foot. The Italian attacker attributed his midseason exit to his partnership with coach Patrick Vieira.

After spending two and a half seasons at Le Gym after leaving Liverpool in the middle of the period, Balotelli joined Olympique de Marseille for the balance of the 2018–19 campaign.

Balotelli experienced highs and lows throughout his career, but under manager Lucien Favre, he found some stability at Nice. During the manager’s two seasons, the striker scored 15 goals in the league and then set a career-best with 18 goals.

As he explains to SO Foot, “I lived in Villefranche, and it was crazy. I had a smile every day, I went to the sea every day. A dream life.” He continues, “The problem was that the way Vieira played didn’t really suit me. I got along well with him, but sportingly, I didn’t agree. If I hadn’t had these problems with him, I would never have left Nice.”

But in what would turn out to be his third full campaign at the club, his use and game time under Patrick Vieira ensured that total was never close to having been matched. The forward still has pleasant memories of his stay in Nice, despite how his time there ended.

In 2019, Mario Balotelli brought his wandering career to a close by joining Marseille through the conclusion of the season.

After running afoul of coach Patrick Vieira, the former scorer for Manchester City and Liverpool was freed to go Nice.Marseille used an online clip of three men performing parkour around the city before creating a graffiti portrait of Balotelli to reveal their new addition to the world.

After making a loan transfer to Milan, Balotelli left for France, where he played in Ligue 1 for Nice and Marseille. He made a third trip back to Italy, signing with Brescia, a Serie A team, in the summer of 2019 and Monza, a Serie B team, in late 2020. Balotelli inked a contract with Turkish team Adana Demirspor following the summer.

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Mario Balotelli ‘blamed’ Patrick Vieira for Nice exit in 2019

The Italian striker is currently playing for Turkish team Adana Demirspor

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