Mario Balotelli could be set to join the 13th club of his football career having declared that he wants to play in Australia.
The former Premier League title winner is attracting interest from A-League side Perth Glory following his release from Genoa.
Balotelli spent a season back in Italy last campaign, but he only made six appearances in Serie A before falling out of favour.
That spell with Genoa came after he spent time in Turkey with Adana Demirspor and in Switzerland with Sion.
He has also played for Italian sides Monza, Brescia Inter and AC Milan, represented French clubs Marseille and as well as Premier League clubs Liverpool and Manchester City.
And the 35-year-old is now on the lookout for his next challenge, publicly admitting that he’d be up for a move Down Under.
He told Newswire: “I’m definitely very interested about playing in the A-League. It would be a new experience for me.
“Absolutely, my door is open if clubs want to speak to me about coming to Australia.”
The ex-Man City star revealed that he had also chatted with fellow Italian Alessandro Diamanti about the switch.
Diamanti, who spent time at West Ham and Watford, ended his career at A-League outfit Western United.
Balotelli added: “It was interesting to hear about it from him.
“I would see it as an exciting opportunity for me if I could play in Australia. And besides football, Australia would also be a wonderful country to live in.”
Could Balotelli join Perth Glory?
The public comments from Balotelli on a potential move to Australia caught the eye of Perth Glory.
And their football director, Stan Lazaridis, revealed that his team would be interested in signing him.
Via news.com.au, Lazaridis said: “He would be great for us and the A-League. It’s a big thing to get a player of that calibre here.
“But it’s been done before in the A-League with the likes of Alessandro Del Piero and Dwight Yorke.
“It’s maybe a longshot, but we are interested.”
So, the door appears to be open for Balotelli to make the move…
Following in Sturridge’s footsteps
Should Balotelli end up at Perth Glory, he would follow in the footsteps of his former Liverpool teammate, Daniel Sturridge.
Sturridge headed to Perth in 2021 after waiting 19 months for a new club following a ban for breaching the FA’s gambling rules.
The Champions League and Premier League winner was labelled one of the biggest signings in the history of the A-League at the time.
However, he only managed six appearances, starting just once and scoring no goals for Glory during his year at the club.
Almost two months after his arrival, he eventually made his debut, but he suffered a groin injury soon after and was sidelined.
Sturridge’s time in Australia was then massively impacted by injuries and he was released in the summer of 2022 after Glory finished bottom of the A-League with just four wins all season.