AC Milan have agreed a deal to sign Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli on a four-and-a-half-year contract, the Italian club have confirmed.
City manager Roberto Mancini said on Tuesday that Balotelli could complete his move after a medical on Wednesday.
"Both clubs are talking about him," said Mancini. "Maybe tomorrow [Wednesday] they can close [the deal]."
The clubs are believed to have agreed a fee of 22m euros (£19m), rising to 25m euros (£22m) with add-ons.
"We love Mario, but he had this big chance to go back to Italy," added Mancini. "Milan started to talk to Manchester City in the last two days and they are very close."
The Italy international had travelled with City to London for their Premier League game against Queens Park Rangers, which ended 0-0, on Tuesday evening, but did not feature in the squad after Milan director Umberto Gandini confirmed a deal had been struck hours before kick-off.
Mario Balotelli's three years stay in England has been one filled with mixed feelings and emotions.
In his first season at Manchester City he scored 10 goals in 28 appearances, but was also sent off twice - against West Bromwich Albion and Dynamo Kiev.
The 2011-12 season was arguably his most productive as he scored 20 goals in 40 appearances, and he provided the crucial assist for Sergio Aguero to score the title-clinching goal against QPR in May last year.
However, he still struggled with discipline on the pitch, picking up 11 yellow cards and he was also sent off in Premier League games against Liverpool and Arsenal, the latter prompting Mancini to suggest he would be willing to sell the striker.
2012 will forever be a year Mario will always remember thing seem to go so well for him. On 22 January 2012, Balotelli came on as a substitute during a match against Tottenham Hotspur. He appeared to stamp on Scott Parker during the match against Tottenham, but, already booked, did not get a second yellow from referee Howard Webb, who did not see the incident. Balotelli subsequently scored his first goal of 2012, a injury-time penalty which secured a 3–2 win for City. He was charged for violent conduct for the kick against Scott Parker and was suspended for four matches, three for violent conduct and one for his second sending off. On 25 February, he scored his tenth league goal of the season in a 3–0 home win against Blackburn Rovers.He scored again the following game in a 2–0 win against Bolton Wanderers. On 31 March, Balotelli scored twice as City drew 3–3 at home against Sunderland. However, Balotelli was criticized for his actions in the match after squabbling with Aleksandar Kolarov over a free kick. Roberto Mancini claimed after the game that he had considered substituting Balotelli just five minutes into the match. On 8 April 2012, Balotelli received his fourth red card of the season, after receiving his second yellow card during the match for a tackle against Bacary Sagna during City's 1–0 loss to Arsenal in April 2012. In the same match he had tackled Arsenal's Alex Song and there was speculation about a nine match suspension. However, one of the match officials saw the Song challenge and no action was taken, and according to FA regulations, no retrospective action can be taken if any of the match officials see the offence in question. He was banned for three games (one for the two yellow cards and two for the previous two red cards in the same season). After the Arsenal match, Mancini appeared to have finally lost his patience with Balotelli, suggesting that Balotelli would not play any part in the remainder of City's season and be sold by the club. Despite this, Balotelli did make an appearance as a late substitute in the last game of the season, a title-deciding match against Queens Park Rangers. Balotelli provided the assist to striker Sergio Agüero, who scored in the 94th minute to give City their first league title since 1968.
For His country Italy, On 10 June 2012, Balotelli also became the first black player to appear for Italy in a major tournament (Euro or World Cup) in a 1–1 draw against Spain, Italy's first match of Euro 2012. Italy and Spain later played each other for the second time in the tournament in the Ukraine's capital city of Kiev. During the 1–1 draw Balotelli failed to make an impact, he was substituted off during the 56th minute after missing multiple chances; specifically a one on one with Spanish goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas just minutes before being subbed off.
on 18 June 2012, Mario Balotelli scored his first goal in a major international tournament in a 2–0 victory against Ireland. When he attempted to celebrate this goal, he was immediately halted by teammate Leonardo Bonucci, who covered Mario's mouth with his hand for fear that Balotelli would say something to "get in trouble." Balotelli had been dropped to the bench by Cesare Prandelli prior to the game due to his lack of ability shown in his previous group games, so when he was subbed on against Ireland fans didn't expect him to have much of an impact, and his celebration of his goal may have originally been directed towards the naysayers who believe he is bad for the team. Balotelli went on to start against England in the quarter-finals, his performance was described as wasteful but his effort was rated highly in a game where he missed multiple chances. He scored the first penalty taken in the shootout against his Manchester City teammate Joe Hart. Balotelli scored twice within the first 40 minutes in Italy's semi-final clash with Germany, as the Azzurri won 2–1 and progressed to the Euro 2012 final against European and World champions Spain.
Mario will greatly be missed by many of the City faithful despite the fact that He managed to score just two goals for the club this season. Many are of the opinion that City will find it very difficult to retain the League now that the "Super Mario" is gone.
Soccer4life and the rest of the soccer world all join in one chorus to say Farewell Mario Balotelli and wish him a happy return to Italy.
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