Mario Balotelli is not headed out of Milan in January.
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri told reporters that his star striker was going to remain with the club for the rest of the year and that he had no intention of letting him leave.
"He's not going anywhere in January," Allegri said according to ESPN. "When he arrived here, he scored 12 goals in 13 games and he was important at the start of the year. It happens to play badly, but it seems when it happens to Balotelli, it all gets blown out of proportion.
"Mario's trained well and he just needs to be left in peace and judged like all of the players for what he does on the field," he added. "He didn't play well in Parma, so I took him off. Mario needs to learn how to control his own nervous energy because he's a personality in the media spotlight."
The Mercurial striker became the target of transfer rumors after his agent hinted that he will eventually leave Italy.
"There is an exaggerated amount of attention on him in Italy," said Balotelli's agent according to Fanatix. "We all need to calm down and analyze how things are going with Milan.
"Italy will not be the final stage of his career, for sure."
One rumored destination is Chelsea where Jose Mourinho is in desperate need of strikers. His current trio comprised of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba, and Samuel Eto'o has combined for two Premier League goals. Balotelli would be an instant upgrade over any of those three.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
