Balotelli: “I’d wanted to play for Milan for a long time”

MARIO BALOTELLI is happy to finally come to Milan and hopes to help Milan being even greater.

Milan completed one of the most interesting deals in the last year, signing Mario Balotelli from Manchester City for €20m (plus €3m in bonuses) and today he landed in Milano and was welcomed by many fans.

Balotelli had life difficult in England and was under the constant observation of the press but now he’s back in Italy and he’s ready to play for Milan, the club he has always supported – even in his time at Inter.

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“I had wanted to play for Milan for such a long time. I played for other clubs before, so I couldn’t come here. Now I had the possibility to join Milan and I immediately ran for it,” Balotelli, 22, said in his first interview to Milan Channel. “If I know that the Milan fans are going crazy for me? I don’t know. I still have to see it.

“Which song I want the Milan fans to sing for me? It’s enough that they care about me and like me. I hope that I can pay the fans back for their support. I didn’t have a good start to the season with Manchester City (three goals in just 15 appearances this year, and I hope to do well here at Milan. I already knew that I would join Milan sooner or later. The newspapers write a lot of things, but I knew that I was joining Milan.

“It’s true that I’ve made some important choices and I hope they’ll turn out to be good for both me and Milan. Let’s hope we can make Milan an even greater club in the future – and make me greater as well.”

It took Milan a few days to seal the deal with Manchester City (since negotiations went official) and Adriano Galliani and Mino Raiola made City drop the asking price for Balotelli to just €20m. “I certainly do not have to present Mario Balotelli. It is a dream come true and something that we all wanted, with the president Silvio Berlusconi at the forefront,” Vice President Galliani told the press at the Malpensa airport today.

“With the arrival of Mario, we have strengthened our team a lot. We have worked so hard and Mario has been in our hearts for a long time and finally we have succeeded in signing him.” Balotelli is a major boost for Milan for his quality but as Barbara Berlusconi mentions, it also shows Milan still have a lot of strength.

“This operation has demonstrated that Milan can still invest substantial amounts in top players,” Barbara told Milan Channel. “Our club has, in the last year or so, completely reorganised costing and investments.”

“It was about rationalisation, and various sacrifices were needed, not just in terms of player’s salaries but also about re positioning the brand. Milan were the first club to choose to organise their accounts and balance the books. Thanks to this strong decision, we can only stand to benefit with our stars of the future, and still also be able to make some important acquisitions,” added Silvio’s daughter and the Milan director.

After landing, Balotelli went straight to the Busto Arsizio hospital for the first part of his medical check-ups. It was tough for Balo to even get out of the car as there were many fans and journalists in the hospital area. The TV show Striscia la Notizia has also awarded Balotelli, Milan’s new number #45, a Tapiro d’Oro.

Balotelli will have dinner at Giannino this evening along with Galliani, Raiola, Ariedo Braida and Massimiliano Allegri. He will have the 2nd part of his medical tomorrow at Milanello before his first training.