It seems we got about two weeks of a honeymoon period with Mario Balotelli’s attitude on his return to Serie A before it reverted to everything we are used to.
It all started so well, he looked motivated and scored some nice goals. There was even some brief talk of a possible international recall ahead of Euro 2020, but that all looks to be out the window now.
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To offer some fairness and context to his struggles, he has had to deal with the horrific incident involving the Verona fans racially abusing him and his own fans refusing to stick up for him afterwards. Perhaps that’s taken some of his enthusiasm away, which is totally understandable.
According to Gazzetta Dello Sport via Football Italia, he left Bresica training early after falling out with the manager, Fabio Grosso. They go on to say that the club is denying this version of events, but he was described as being very angry about something.
They even suggest that his availability for their game away to Roma at the weekend is in doubt, so it’s a huge blow for the team. They took a gamble on the former Liverpool and Milan star to be the man to fire them to safety this season.
It’s a distraction they could do without. If he does miss the Roma game, it could raise serious questions about where he goes from here. This move was seen by many as a last chance to prove himself and salvage his reputation, but this has done the opposite.