Italian striker Mario Balotelli, who has been without a team since the end of last season, is close to returning to Italy’s Serie A with Genoa, a club he has been in talks with since September. 

Balotelli's return to Italian football is just hours away from becoming official, according to local media. The player, who ended his contract with Turkey's Adana Demirspor in June, has not played since May 12, a match in which he was also sent off.

Genoa's urgent needs—after losing Italian striker Mateo Retegui this summer to an emergency transfer to Atalanta following the injury of his compatriot Gianluca Scamacca, coupled with recent injuries to Brazilian Junior Messias, Portuguese Vitinha, and Ghanaian Caleb Ekuban—have led the club to search the free-agent market.

That’s where 34-year-old Balotelli emerged as an option. After several weeks of consideration, he now appears set to become the new striker for the team led by Alberto Gilardino.

The forward, who has been training independently in Brescia, near Milan, is expected to sign a contract through the end of the season, until June 2025.

This signing marks Balotelli's return to Italian football. He played for Inter Milan from 2007 to 2010, winning a historic treble under Portuguese manager José Mourinho. He then moved to Manchester City, where he won a Premier League title and an FA Cup; later, he spent two years with AC Milan, followed by a season with Liverpool, and returned to Milan in the 2015-16 season before leaving Serie A. 

Since then, he has played for Nice, Marseille, Brescia, Monza (Serie B), Adana Demirspor, and Sion.