How Big a Steal Is Mario Balotelli for AC Milan?

Throughout the last two months, AC Milan appeared intent on bringing in a former talisman. Iconic Swedish goal machine Zlatan Ibrahimovic was consistently reported to be high on the club’s list of summer transfer targets, though eventually it was confirmed that he would remain in France with Paris Saint-Germain. Instead, Milan brought back Mario Balotelli on a season-long loan deal.

The underwhelming note with which that opening paragraph ended was intentional. While Balotelli forged an impressive goal record during his first stint with the Rossoneri, it didn’t quite measure up to Zlatan’s accomplishments. Balotelli’s 0.55 goals per game fell short of the Swede’s 0.66.

Furthermore, while Zlatan has acquired cult status thanks to his self-aggrandising proclamations and unashamed narcissism, Balotelli has been tagged as a complex, whimsical character who does not necessarily benefit the collective, personally or tactically. This reputation, fair or not, was only strengthened during his time with Liverpool.

His arrival on Merseyside for a £16 million fee was treated as something of a coup as Liverpool sought to bolster their squad in the wake of Luis Suarez’s departure for Barcelona. However, the move unravelled—swiftly and without compromise—into an unmitigated disaster for both player and club.

One Premier League goal in 16 outings provided irrefutable quantitative evidence of a failure. The one partially saving grace was that, by modern standards, the financial cost Liverpool bore was relatively little, something Mark Lawrenson had fatefully alluded to upon Balotelli’s signature.

Per BBC Sport, Lawrenson told BBC Radio 5 Live:

"

For £16 (million), it’s not too much money. When you think Shane Long went to Hull for £12 (million) and Ross McCormack to Leeds for £11 (million), it’s not a lot of money in comparison.

(Balotelli has) made lots of mistakes in the past – and he might make some more – but what’s the worst that can happen? If it doesn’t work, someone else will take him in the future, either in January or next summer.

"

Those words were, in some ways, prophetic. Balotelli and Liverpool was a marriage completely devoid of synchronicity. The fact that, in hindsight, the single pro was a comparably reasonable but still not insignificant transfer fee speaks volumes about just how badly things turned out.

Now Milan have become the very club that Lawrenson had forecast to take Balotelli in, extracting him from the painful crash that was his time at Liverpool and offering him a familiar sanctuary. Only things are very different this time around.

Balotelli’s bad headlines-per-month ratio seemed significantly lower last season than it did during his previous foray into Premier League football with Manchester City. Indeed, he attributed his poor performance at Anfield more down to Brendan Rodgers’ tactics than to his own behaviour.

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Nonetheless, his reputation persists and, as a consequence, Milan have imposed rules that pertain specifically to Balotelli, with Football Italia reporting via Corriere della Sera that the 25-year-old’s social media postings will be closely monitored, while he will also be banned from smoking, drinking excessively and dressing extravagantly.

Some of the rules seem draconian, some seem like standard practise, but the overriding message is clear: Balotelli will be afforded minuscule shrift in his latest venture. That Milan didn’t even agree to a set purchase price suggests that, should he break even one of the sacred tenets put upon him, he will be on the fastest plane out of Milan come the end of his loan period.

With this in mind, the 2015/16 season is set to be a definitive chapter in the curious story of Balotelli. He is no longer a problem child with abundant talent, nor a mercurial early-20s prospect with time on his side to find consistency. Failure this season wouldn’t just mean the end of his loan spell with Milan, it could also represent the beginning of the end for a player destined not to fulfil his potential.

Fortunately, the circumstances appear to be in favour of both player and club this time. With Liverpool, Balotelli found the deepest trough yet in his tortuous career curve. It’s unlikely he can play much worse.

Additionally, with no obligation to sign Balotelli outright and without the necessity to pay his full salary, Milan have minimised the potentially hefty financial impact should the player underwhelm.

The Rossoneri have taken out all available insurance policies to cover themselves, ensuring that should this deal backfire, it can only do so much harm, though there is ample evidence to suggest the deal could actually prove productive for all parties.

Sinisa Mihajlovic, before his appointment as Milan’s head coach, once served as assistant to Roberto Mancini at Internazionale. During this time, he worked with a young Balotelli. Mihajlovic will have watched the teenage prodigy with intent; if anyone understands the inner workings of Balotelli’s mind, it is he.

Mihajlovic has been tasked with catalysing Milan’s redemption after two years of mid-table mediocrity. In this cause, his hand was strengthened by the signatures of Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano, two strikers with form and pedigree on their side.

The two have shown promise as the striker pairing atop Mihajlovic’s 4-3-1-2 system, though Balotelli’s return adds competition for places, something Milan would have been otherwise lacking with M’Baye Niang’s injury and Alessandro Matri’s leaving for Lazio.

Three into two doesn’t go, though. Mihajlovic is extremely unlikely to forsake his tactical notions in favour of a front trident and thus, one out of Bacca, Adriano and Balotelli will always have to content themselves with a restive position on the substitutes’ bench.

Given his late arrival, Balotelli is likely to assume this role to begin with. Still, over the course of the season, he should find plenty of opportunity to establish himself as a prominent first-team member.

If he does work his way into the starting lineup, there is a chance that Balotelli could both benefit from and complement Mihajlovic’s preferred system. In a strike partnership with a playmaker in behind, Balotelli will be able to share the workload of leading the line with others. He will be able to play free of the pressure that comes with being the sole focal point of attack.

While noting what Milan can do for Balotelli, it’s worth remembering what Balotelli brings to Milan. His first spell with the club reaped a level of productivity shown at no other club in his winding career to date. Not with Internazionale, Manchester City nor Liverpool did he reach the efficacy showcased during his time with the Rossoneri between 2013 and 2014.

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As well as tactically, Balotelli could also benefit from Mihajlovic’s personality. The coach is well known for his attentive quest for betterment—he greets wins with nonchalant shrugs and structured criticism, defeats with careful, considered reflection.

Mihajlovic knows how to apply both carrot and stick methods, something that may work in dragging the best out of Balotelli, who has so often in the past been an easy target for the media to aim at and a subsequent excuse for managers to pin poor results to.

While other players were away on international duty, Balotelli scored one goal, set up another and won a penalty as Milan won 3-2 over fourth-division Mantova in a friendly match last Thursday. Yet in the aftermath of a positive start, he was instructed by Mihajlovic to lose weight.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, via the Telegraph, Mihajlovic said, “He’s not played for a while and he still has to improve. He’s training well…but he’s three kilogrammes overweight: he’s on a diet and when he’s ready he will play.”

Such statements must have been sobering for Balotelli, though early signs suggest he will respond well to Mihajlovic’s tempering sense of perspective, something other players may not find quite so enamouring.

Milan vice president Adriano Galliani hinted at this when detailing Balotelli’s reported increased maturity. According to Football 365 via Sky Italia, Galliani stated: "He (Balotelli) has an extraordinary attitude, he’s changed radically. He’s the first to arrive for training…and the last to leave…His technical ability has never been in question. If he continues with the approach he’s had in this first week then he’ll be fine."

Balotelli’s career path has encountered extreme turbulence in the past year. He went from transfer coup to unreliable irritant at Liverpool. He was dropped from the Azzurri as memories of his two-goal, Germany-eliminating salvo in the Euro 2012 semi-finals faded to nothing but a memory. Then, in July of this year, he experienced personal heartbreak with the passing of his father, Francesco.

However, there are indications to suggest that the man many once considered both forlorn maverick and potential genius has come out on the other side of the trauma with a point to prove. He has taken a beating on several fronts but, if this were a Rocky movie, the montage would be well underway.

Balotelli remains one of football’s greatest enigmas, but his rendezvous with Milan could be the perfect recoupling. A club provoked by unsettling recent results combined with a wandering star on a mission to reclaim his best self—there’s an optimistic outcome in there somewhere.

The risks are relatively few and the possibilities clear. Of all the multimillions spent on fresh faces, it could be the returnee who helps Milan back to their feet. If that is to be the case, the primary Rossoneri theme for this season will indeed be redemption, in more ways than one.