According to the Canadian Press on Monday, the Italian Serie A soccer club Brescia has released striker Mario Balotelli of Palermo, Italy. The use of the word “released” in the previous sentence as a transitive verb is actually polite in this instance, due to the fact that many sources today stated that Brescia “fired” Balotelli.
Even though Balotelli’s offensive statistics for Brescia in 2019-20 were respectable (five goals in 19 games), one needs to look beyond the statistics here. He missed the first four games of the Serie A season because a suspension he was given for a dangerous challenge while with Marseille last season.
When Balotelli joined Brescia, they had a respectable Serie A record of two wins and two losses. There were definite signs of hope in the Brescia camp to start the season, as they found a way to beat Cagliari Calcio twice by scores of 1-0 in each contest without Balotelli in the lineup.
However, life with Balotelli for Brescia as their striker did not equate into a good win-loss record at all. In the 19 games Balotelli played for Brescia, it was very difficult for Brescia to come away with victories, indeed. They only posted a record of two wins, 13 losses, and four draws. Brescia meanwhile is last in Serie A with 16 points, and will most likely be facing relegation.
Balotelli had initially signed a multi-year contract with a base salary of 1.5 million Euros with several bonuses. Due to the fact that Balotelli has technically “been fired” by Brescia, it will be interesting to see where the Italian soccer veteran will be able to sign with next.
Unfortunately, Balotelli faced his fair share of racism this past season in Serie A. Many of the verbal attacks came from the opponent’s fan base. Balotelli has 14 goals in 36 games with Italy on the international stage, and 114 goals in his professional senior career in Italy, England, and France.
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