Balotelli nets another double as agent suggests a Prem return

Mario Balotelli scored twice for Nice again on Wednesday night – with his agent wasting little time in suggesting his client would welcome a return to the Premier League next summer.

The Italian striker, who joined Nice on a free transfer on transfer deadline day after a nightmare two-year spell at Liverpool, has now netted four goals in just three games for the Ligue 1 club.

And although the former AC Milan and Inter Milan striker has described his decision to move to Anfield as the “biggest mistake of my life”, the player’s controversial agent, Mino Raiola, reckons Balotelli will be ripe for a return to the Premier League next summer.

“If he proves he can become stable at Nice and score goals then imagine how attractive he would be to a Premier League manager next summer as a free agent,” he said.

“France needs him, like they needed Zlatan. He is good for the league but he will absolutely return to the Premier League,” he said.

Raiola admits Nice regrets

Raiola also revealed that he partially blamed himself for what happened to ‘Super Mario’.

“I should not have given him his way when he asked to leave City,” Raiola said.

“It is the one big mistake I made. Mario was unhappy and I should have said, ‘You’re feeling s***? You don’t like your job? Tough, grow up, get on with it’. I needed to be cruel to be kind but I was too nice.

“Football needs to be his priority – to be a top athlete, you make the sacrifice and after 11 or 12 years, you redress the balance then lead the life you want.

“Pavel Nedved, who was one of my first players, had that focus to be a success and he was a model family man.

“Mario didn’t have that focus, then he got a reputation and if you have a reputation you don’t have credibility. That makes it more difficult.”