Audio By Carbonatix
Inter Milan's teenage star Mario Balotelli pinned his colours firmly to Italy on Thursday by insisting that he does not want to play for the land of his forefathers.
Balotelli was born in Palermo to Ghanaian immigrants, whose surname is Barwuah, but when he was three years old he was entrusted to an Italian family, called Balotelli.
Due to Italian law he could not request Italian citizenship until he turned 18, last month, as he was never formally adopted and now he is part of the Italy under-21 squad.
"I'm Italian, I feel Italian, I will always play for Italy," he said.
"I've never considered playing for Ghana, even two years ago when they called me up."
He signed for Inter in 2006 and made his first team breakthrough last season, at just 17 years of age.
Ghana had tried to call him up for their national team but Balotelli turned them down several times to pursue his dream of playing for Italy.
Source: AFP
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Billions of meals at risk due to Iran war, says fertiliser boss
22 minutes -
STOP NCD expands ‘NCD-CareNet’ intervention, pilots ‘Nutribot’ to combat NCDs
38 minutes -
Prof. Kwawukume leads call for excellence in nursing training
47 minutes -
All power generation units restored after Akosombo Substation fire – John Jinapor
1 hour -
Adongo defends grassroots projects as ‘fit-for-purpose’ push gains attention in Sumbrungu
1 hour -
PMI Global Summit Series heads to Cape Town
2 hours -
NIHR Symposium 2026: Researchers meet in Ghana for sustainable solutions as NCDs surge worldwide
2 hours -
No drums, no loudspeakers, no funerals from May 4 as AMA announces noise-making ban
4 hours -
[Video] Singer Paul Okoye of P-Square falls off stage during performance in Australia
4 hours -
‘Why your papa no hustle’ – Davido blasts T-Dot for calling him daddy’s boy
4 hours -
Many musicians far more talented than me but not heard – Asake
4 hours -
Trump pulls Surgeon General pick after nomination stalls
4 hours -
Apple hails ‘extraordinary’ iPhone demand as boss Tim Cook heads out
4 hours -
US judge rejects Trump administration’s halt on immigration applications
4 hours -
Amnesty urges Nigeria to investigate deaths in army-run camp, military says report baseless
5 hours