Premier League flops return to Serie A

ROME- Mario Balotelli and Juan Cuadrado have both agreed returns to Italy after troubled spells in England. Subject to the results of Tuesday’s medical the Italian striker will return to Milan, on a season-long loan from Liverpool, while the Colombian has joined reigning champions Juventus from Chelsea.

 It has been reported that Balotelli will take a substantial wage cut to return to Milan with Liverpool continuing to pay a proportion of his salary during the loan move. Milan Chief Executive, Adriano Galliani, told Gazzetto dello Sport that the club also plans to insert a good behaviour clause into the mercurial striker’s contract to prevent him from falling foul of social media regulations and to encourage a healthier lifestyle.

 Balotelli, 25, burst onto football’s grandest stage when he scored the opener in Manchester City’s 6-1 demolition of their closest neighbours Manchester United in October 2011. Balotelli had signed for City the previous summer after falling out with the then Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho and this has become a common theme during the troubled Italian star’s short career.

 After numerous disciplinary problems at Manchester City, including an over-zealous firework display which led to a charred bathroom and an undesirable reputation as a pyromaniac, Balotelli returned to Italy to play for Milan. The period that followed was perhaps the most successful in the striker’s career to date, with Balotelli finding the net 26 times in 43 games and miraculously avoiding any major disciplinary faux pas.

 It came as somewhat of a surprise when, in 2014, Balotelli agreed to return to the Premier League, in a bid to help Liverpool to their first league title in more than two decades. The Italian felt he had a lot of offer the Merseyside club in the wake of Luis Suarez’s departure but for reasons unbeknown to many, it just hasn’t worked out. With Milan calling for the second time in his career, Liverpool and the not so super Mario were both keen to seal a deal.

 Chelsea’s Juan Cuadrado is another player heading for the Italian sun after a dismal seven months in England. After impressing for Fiorentina, the London club paid £23.3 million for his services during the January transfer window but Cuadrado has only made 15 appearances in the intervening months and just four starts. Juventus will be hoping that a return to Serie A will help Cuadrado rekindle the kind of form which helped Fiorentina to reach the 2014 Coppa Italia final.

 The Colombian winger could make his debut this weekend in a mouthwatering clash against Roma at the capital’s Stadio Olimpico. The Bianconeri have suffered a stuttering start to the season, losing to Udinese on the opening day, but will be hoping to put things right on Sunday, against last year’s second-ranked team.