Agent confirms Balotelli transfer priority and why Milan didn’t sell Bennacer | OneFootball

Mario Balotelli’s agent Enzo Raiola, confirms the ex-Inter striker wants to play in Italy and that talks are ongoing with some clubs, while Milan didn’t want to sell Ismael Bennacer this summer.

Balotelli is still without a club and said in an interview last week that he hopes to return to Serie A after playing in Italy’s top flight for Inter, Milan, and Brescia.

The Italian is without a club after the end of his contract with Adana Demirspor in June.

“He’d like to stay in Italy. He has so many requests from outside Europe, but he wants to stay close to home,” his agent Enzo Raiola confirmed in an interview with Tuttosport on Tuesday (page 20).

“There are talks with a few clubs, and we are waiting. We’ll see what to do if nothing unlocks in the coming months. Palermo? When we talk about them, it’s not Serie B. It’s a sort of Serie A2. The division is not a problem. We need an appropriate project for Mario.”

Another Raiola agent, Milan midfielder Bennacer, had requests from Saudi Pro League clubs in the summer, but he was happy at San Siro and the Rossoneri didn’t want to sell him.

“It’s easy. There were talks with some clubs, but he never questioned his desire to stay at Milan,” said Raiola.

“I want to remember that not every player can go to Saudi Arabia, and the market there is not open daily. The Rossoneri also wanted him to stay, and it’s hard to pick a different team in Europe. He’s happy in Milan, and leaving this club is not easy.”

Bennacer suffered a severe injury while on international duty with Algeria this month and has undergone surgery. He’s expected to remain out of action for four months.

On the other hand, Giacomo Bonaventura moved to the Saudi Pro League this summer after his contract with Fiorentina expired.

“Al-Shabab strongly wanted him. He knew the club’s director, Domenico Teti, during the Super Cup in Ryiad in January, when he had requests from other clubs,” revealed Raiola.

“He immediately liked that reality, and he wanted a club that wanted a team that relied on him 100%. Teti did anything he could to sign him. The club is very organised, they don’t waste money, they make wise investments.”