Mario Balotelli has decided that he will snub Newcastle United after Rafa Benitez offered the Nice centre-forward a chance to return to the Premier League, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper claims that Balotelli, 28, is set to sign for Marseille after Patrick Vieira banished him from the Nice training ground for not committing his future to the Ligue 1 club.
It is understood that like Newcastle, Marseille have also made an offer for the Italy international as Nice could tear up his contract six months before it is due to expire.
OPINION
It is probably a good job that Newcastle won’t be getting Balotelli. The former Manchester City striker could have had an amazing career if he wasn’t getting him into off the pitch problems all the time. He is a very gifted player but he has rarely shown glimpses of his quality on the pitch and it just seems that wherever he ends up, he becomes a burden on that club. Balotelli had played very well for Nice. He scored 26 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions last season, while the season before he bagged 17 goals in 28 total games. It shows that the Italian has immense quality, but this latest saga just shows that deep down he is still the young kid who had such a troubled time at Inter Milan and Man City. Newcastle need some quality added to their side next month, but that should not mean adding someone who can bring major disruption to the squad. It’s a better move for Marseille than it is for Newcastle, even though it is bound to backfire at some point.