Mario Balotelli just might be having his most Mario Balotelli season ever for Ligue 1 club Nice. The Italian striker has an excellent 11 goals in 19 appearances, and also a not-so-excellent eight yellow cards and three sending-offs (one of which was later rescinded) in that same period.
His latest red, for dissent, came on Saturday against Lorient.
The January transfer deadline window passed without the need for everyone to lose their collective minds over a deal like Karim Benzema to Burnley or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to PSG, Manchester City, Arsenal or any of the other clubs he really likes.
Following a blatant attack of racial abuse on Mario Balotelli during Nice’s match against Bastia last Friday, the Italian striker took to Instagram and said, “Is it normal that Bastia supporters make monkey noise [and] ‘uh uh’ for the whole game…?” Balotelli then criticized the French League’s disciplinary committee for failing to address the situation, summarizing the entire incident as “a real shame.”
2016 was a year of endless football action. We witnessed Euro 2016, the Copa America Centenario, World Cup qualifiers and the Rio Olympics to go along with the usual domestic and continental club competitions.
We also saw a host of youngsters taking center stage with their respective sides due to the corresponding opportunities. With that being said, here are five youngsters poised to have a breakout year in 2017.
Replacing Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his 2015-16 tally of 44 goals for Paris St-Germain was always going to be impossible, but the club couldn’t have foreseen the transition being this painful. The numbers indicating the decline of PSG’s attack are staggering: last season, they scored 102 league goals. This year, they’re on pace for 76.
While the defense has already surrendered 15 goals at the halfway point of the season as compared to 19 throughout the entirety of 2015-16, it’s the lack of offensive firepower that is clearly troubling owners Qatar Sports Investments.
Thomas Meunier is a right back so this goal probably shouldn’t have been allowed to stand. It’s outrageous in the extreme.
This goal is so luscious that the 3 Musketeers candy bar company if filing a lawsuit for stealing their recipe. This goal is softer than goose down feathers and silkier than satin. Thomas Meunier pick up your phone, kittens are calling you, they want their velvety fluff back.
130 years after the people of France gifted the United States the Statue of Liberty, now an icon of our country, Alex Morgan, an idol of footballing excellence, has returned the favor by taking her talents to Lyon.
BREAKING: Orlando Pride Forward Alex Morgan to Open Year with French Club Olympique Lyonnais..
The rejuvenated heroics of Mario Balotelli saw the Italian striker score six goals in his first six Ligue 1 matches for Nice, propelling the club to the top of the table over the likes of Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain.
Mario Balotelli has threatened to do the unthinkable if his new team, Nice, win France's Ligue 1: fly a helicopter over the city.
Nice are first in the French league right now, due in part to Balotelli's return to goal-scoring form. Balotelli isn't just content with scoring goals and winning, though. He wants to plunge the world into chaos.
Here's the quote, from Mediaset (bolding ours):