Milan chief believes striker is ‘untransferable’.
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AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani has said that he believes Mario Balotelli is ‘untransferable’ and that he will be a future icon at the club, Sky Sports reports.
The club swooped to bring the enigmatic front man back to Italy in the January transfer window and he quickly settled back into life in Serie A by bagging 12 goals in 13 appearances during the latter half of last season.
The 22-year-old endured a turbulent time with Manchester City where he picked up a Premier League title, an FA Cup winners medal and an FA Community Shield victory, but saw the majority of his time off the pitch scrutinised by the press who at various points vilified and derided him.
However, Galliani has insisted that he will never be treated in such a away in Italy and his off the field antics have even won over the clubs fans, rather than driven them away.
“He’s absolutely untransferable. He is our icon,” he said.
“The only way that changes is if someone arrived with an offer of €150million (£129m) and you can’t refuse.”
Galliani also shed some light on the names that the club is look at should Brazilian striker Robinho return to Santos.
“If he leaves, we will sign another young striker. (Fiorentina’s Adem) Ljajic is in our thoughts, (Keisuke) Honda too. I don’t know if we will buy Ljajic or someone else. We definitely won’t be buying a striker aged 32.”