Kerela Blasters reject former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli

After spending just one season with Turkish Super Lig team Adana Demirspor after signing a contract last summer, Mario Balotelli is at present a free agent. The Italian striker was connected to Kerala Blasters earlier this summer, giving him the chance to find a new team. However, according to The Times of India, the Indian Super League team turned down the forward's offer to sign.

The story goes on to say that the Indian team chose not to sign the 34-year-old for mainly two reasons. One was, of course, his reputation as a world football player, which intimidated the ISL team because they didn't think he was an achievable target. The player's prior on-and off-field problems were also assessed by the Blasters, which made them less interested in the trade. 

Balotelli famously set the Adana Demirspor changing room on fire a few months ago when he threw an explosive at his colleagues and the team. He gained notoriety when at Manchester City when, in 2011, a careless fireworks display with friends caused his house to catch fire, just before a pivotal match against archrivals Manchester United.

The former Italy star may have a difficult time finding a new team for himself, as evidenced by the fact that he only made 16 appearances in all competitions and missed much of the previous campaign because of a knee injury.

Mario Balotelli’s famous off-field incident with Manchester City

Throughout his career, Mario Balotelli has played for a number of teams, most notably Manchester City and Liverpool. In France, he has additionally played for Olympique Marseille, Nice, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Marseille. In all of the clubs, he was involved in one controversy or the other and was in the news for the wrong reasons. 

Mario Balotelli was driving to training when he smashed his car shortly after signing with Manchester City in 2010; he had £5,000 in cash. Regarding the money, he only answered by saying, ”Because I am rich.”