Mario Balotelli, The Italian Soccer Star Born To Ghanaian Parents, Has An Intriguing Backstory

Mario Balotelli, a striker for ‘Super Lig club Adana Demirspor’ and the Italy national team, was one of the most promising players in Italian football in the last decade. Balotelli began his professional football career with Lumezzane in 2005 before joining Inter Milan in 2007.

Every outstanding individual has a backstory to tell. Mario Balotelli was born on August 12, 1990, in Palermo, to Ghanaian immigrants Thomas and Rose Barwuah. He is the family's second child, after a sister named Abigail and a brother named Enock in the years that followed.

Mario Balotelli was a tremendous star in Italy and in other international arenas from his adolescence to maturity. He, on the other hand, never played for Ghana.

Anyone who has lived in Italy, especially as an African, knows how difficult it is. Because I gained my coping abilities in Lagos, Nigeria, from 1980 to 1985, I was able to survive in Italy from 1990 to 1993. Many Africans who couldn't bear the hustling or the hostility of a foreign country in the face of racism left Italy and returned to Africa while living in Rome.

As a result, when I read Mario Balotelli's biography, I wasn't surprised to learn about his experiences with racism in the country where he was born. Mario Balotelli has been the target of racist remarks despite being a champion, a fantastic footballer, and a member of the national team. He was booed and frequently received racist slurs such as "monkey" and other derogatory.

Mario lost his cool numerous times when he couldn't take the racist slurs hurled at him. As a celebrity in the world of sports entertainment, he eventually realized that living in a world as a footballer would bring him both love and hate, so he taught himself to deal with the various challenges he encountered in his life as a black footballer.

When Thomas and Rose Barwuah had Mario, he had a lot of health problems as a child, which was the hardest thing for the immigrants to deal with. Faced with economic difficulty, the couple Barwuah moved to Bagnolo Mella in the province of Brescia when Mario was just two years old.

Mario's problems persisted, forcing him to visit the hospital on several occasions. Doctors determined that he required a gut intervention; however, his parents lacked the financial means to pay for the treatment.

As a result, social workers have decided to place the youngster with a Brescia family, where he will spend his convalescence time. Mario was looked after by Mario's parents, Francesco and Silvia Balotelli. What was supposed to be a temporary arrangement turned into an indefinite foster care arrangement.

Mario grew up with his adoptive family as well as his brothers John, Jason, and Cristina, Balotelli's biological children. Mario began playing football at a very young age. In 2001, he joined the youth club 'AC Lumezzane,' where he gracefully played for all of Lumezzane's youth teams.

Mario Balotelli's passion for football has caused him to cry numerous times when things don't go the way he wants them to. He has also been a victim of racism on the pitch.

At the age of 15, he was ultimately promoted to the club's senior team. He made his senior debut for Lumezzane against Padova in a 'Serie C1' match in April 2006. His zeal led him to a trial with Barcelona, which went relatively smoothly. Inter Milan signed him on a loan deal in 2006.

Mario Balotelli's first two goals in Serie A were against Reggina in 2007. Inter Milan won the 'Supercoppa Italiana' in 2008, as well as the 2007–2008 Serie A season. He became the youngest player to score in the UEFA Champions League when he was 18 years old in 2008.

The racist shouts by Juve fans were strongly denounced by both clubs after Inter won Serie A for the fourth time in a row. Juve supporters, on the other hand, were barred from attending a match. Even while Mario was not on the field, Juventus fans screamed racial chants at him. In 2010, he appeared on an Italian television show wearing an AC Milan t-shirt.

Inter fans were enraged, and after the game, they attempted to assault him. Manchester City officially signed Mario in August 2010. He made his UEFA Europa League debut, scoring the game-winning goal against Politehnica Timișoara. Then, against Arsenal, he made his Premier League debut.

He was awarded the 'Golden Boy' award for his outstanding achievement by the end of the year. Despite this, his aggressive approach on the field got him into a lot of trouble. Mario joined AC Milan in 2013, and in 43 appearances for the club, he scored 26 goals.

In the 2014–2015 seasons, he joined Liverpool and made 16 appearances, scoring only one goal. 'OGC Nice' announced the signing of Mario from Liverpool in 2016. In his 43 games with the squad, he scored 29 goals, and his contract was extended for another year in June 2017.

Because he was an immigrant, Mario was not considered for the Italian 'Under-15' and 'Under-17' teams. He made his international 'Under-21' debut for his country in September 2008, scoring against Greece. In the 2013 'Confederations Cup,' he played for his senior team, and in the 2014 'FIFA World Cup,' he played for his junior squad.

Mario Balotelli was a tremendous star in Italy and in other international arenas from his adolescence to maturity. He, on the other hand, never played for Ghana and had no desire to do so. While prejudice was at its height in Europe and the United States, the young Mario became drawn to a variety of women. He has a history of having affairs with a variety of women.

According to The Giornale di Brescia, Mario Balotelli resides in the Via Triumplina district of Brescia. In terms of his salary for the 2019/2020 season, he had signed a one-year contract with Brescia at 1.5 million Euros per season. From 2014 to 2016, he was valued at 6 million Euros per season while playing for Liverpool.

Mario Balotelli collected various trophies during his football career, in addition to his football talent. It was listed in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential men in the world in 2013.

For example, he was rated the second best-dressed man in the world by Gentlemen's Quarterly -GQ. Mario, who already had a daughter, Pia, born on December 5, 2012, got engaged to Fanny Neguesha, a Belgian model and film actress, in March 2013. The pair, however, split up in September 2014.

Did Mario ever forget about his Ghanaian roots? Because he was born in Italy to Ghanaian parents, doesn't necessarily mean he could play for Ghana, however, showing love for his homeland, as other great players such as Baba Yara, Mfum, Osei Kofi, Robert Mensah, and others have done, would have added more glamour to Ghana's great soccer history.