Mario Balotelli’s three-year contract with his home club Brescia has been terminated after the striker allegedly missed training sessions ahead of the June 13 Seria A resumption date.
Reports in Italy claims that the 29-year-old former Manchester City and Liverpool forward missed 10 days of training in January and a non-mandatory session on May 26. He also missed another session last week without permission, prompting Brescia owner Massimo Cellino to take actions.
Gazzetta dello Sport and Il Messaggero today confirmed that Massimo sent Balotelli a letter requesting the termination of his three-year contract at the club.
In an interview with the BBC’s World Football programme, Massimo further stated the reason why he had to terminate Balotelli’s contract.
‘I think we both made a mistake,’ Cellino said.
‘I thought that coming to Brescia, which is his town, would commit him very much.
‘At the same time, I think he was handled the wrong way by my previous coach [Eugenio Corini].
‘He doesn’t show up to training, he doesn’t look very committed let’s say, for the future of the club. That’s the problem.
‘Balotelli’s got a contract in Serie A, but he doesn’t have a contract in Serie B. So if we’re relegated, Balotelli won’t have a contract any more.
‘Balotelli apparently doesn’t like to stay in Italy anymore because he’s not acting that way.’
Meanwhile, the striker himself responded to the accusations he was missing training by saying: ‘I’m not training? I didn’t know I was a ghost,’ and insisted he regularly participated.
Balotelli, was contracted to Brescia who currently sit at the bottom of Serie A table, until 2022. He has so far registered 5 goals in 19 Serie A matches this season.
