Mario Balotelli appears set to join Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andrea Pirlo and Patrick Vieira in an exclusive club as he edges closer to joining Serie A giants Juventus.
The maverick striker is currently playing for Adana Demirspor in what is his first season with the Turkish Super Lig club, earning a recall to the Italian national side with his performances.
So far, he has had a solid scoring return for Demirspor, hitting 11 goals in 23 games in all competitions to fire Vincenzo Montella’s side to third place in the Turkish top-flight.
Balotelli has struggled to settle at any of his clubs over the past five years, with the 31-year-old failing to spend more than a season at any side since departing Nice in 2019.
But he finally appears to have found a place in Turkey, becoming a regular when fit to star for Montella’s men in what has been an impressive season for the Blue Lightings.
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While he is settled and scoring goals though, it appears that his period in Turkey could be over after just one season.
Balotelli has found himself become part of a war of words between Besiktas president Ahmet Nur Cebi and his Demirspor counterpart Murat Sancak.
Sancak had claimed that his club would attempt to hire Besiktas coach Senol Gunes as their manager for next season.
Nur Cebi has now furiously hit back at Sancak’s comments and revealed that he believes Balotelli will soon be joining Juventus.
“I do not remember Sancak being a Beşiktaş chief. I do not remember that I brought him to the position of spokesperson for the press,” Nur Cebi said.
"It was not appropriate for the President of Adana Demirspor to make a statement concerning Beşiktaş, which was also a big lie.
“I can give you information from Adana Demirspor. Vincenzo Montella is going to Trabzonspor next year and Mario Balotelli will go to Juventus.”
A move to the Italian giants appears to be unlikely though, with Balotelli’s contract still having more than two years left to run.
Juve also bought Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic in the January window, meaning that they have little need for a new striker.
But if he did complete a surprise switch to the Allianz Stadium, Balotelli would be joining an illustrious club.
The striker would become one of the few players to appear for Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus over the course of their careers.
Balotelli spent three years at Inter between 2007 and 2010, where he won three successive Serie A titles and the Champions League.
He has also spent two and a half seasons with Milan across two different spells, with Juventus the last of the three he needs to play for.
Among the players to be part of the club are Ibrahimovic, legendary Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira, Italian icon Roberto Baggio and classy former midfielder Andrea Pirlo.
Balotelli’s chances of joining those legends appear to be slim but he would likely be keen to link up with Massimiliano Allegri’s side.
