Milan demand large fee from Arsenal to sign maverick Mario
Published:Having been linked with a move for AC Milan and Italy striker Mario Balotelli for many months, Arsenal are now in no doubt over what it will take to see seal the proposed transfer.
According to one national newspaper, Milan have told Arsene Wenger and co that Balotelli will be theirs for a fee of £29.5m, no less.
Sky Italia even claim that Balotelli’s agent and Milan’s Adriano Galliani reached an agreement to sanction the move the day before Italy’s shock loss to supposed Group D minnows Costa Rica.
After sinking England in Manaus with an expertly taken header, Balotelli had then cheekily tweeted that he expected a ‘kiss from the Queen’ if he scored in a win over Costa Rica which would have kept England’s threadbare hopes alive.
As it transpired, ‘Super Mario’ was anything but after spurning a glorious chance to put Italy into the lead before later getting booked for a daft shirt pull, which was obviously a frustrated reaction at his own performance.
That loss leaves the Azzurri needing t avoid defeat against Uruguay in their final Group D game to qualify for the last 16, with the draw priced at 9/4 and an Italy win 6/4.
Balotelli wastes a gloriuos chance for Italy against Costa Rica
In a way, the two opening matches have summed up perfectly what Arsenal would be getting for their wedge from the 23 year-old; a world-class finisher one minute and a disgruntled teenager the next.
However, this doesn’t seem to be an issue for Wenger, who has identified the former Manchester City striker as his top target this summer.
Given the rumours circulating that the Frenchman has around £100m transfer kitty to play with, then the money Milan
are after shouldn’t be a problem, if notorious scrooge Wenger is prepared to spend it.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £100 in free bets.
