AC Milan have once again signalled their intention to bring Mario Balotelli back to Italy, after his sparkling display for Manchester City at Old Trafford.
The 21-year-old striker banged his fifth and sixth goal of the season in the 6-1 mauling of Manchester United at the weekend, and his scoring exploits have not gone unnoticed back in his homeland.
Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has admitted he has a ‘passion’ for the explosive hitman, and suggested the ex-Inter forward could form a formidable partnership for the Rossoneri with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
‘Balotelli is my passion, he's a great player,’ Galliani told Sky Italia.
‘Take him to Milan? Who knows, for now it remains a passion.’
‘Ibrahimovic? He's fine and will remain until the end of his contract. Ibra and Balotelli will compensate each other, they would be good together.’
Balotelli is a self-confessed AC Milan fan, and has never hidden his desire to one day play for the Italian giants.
However, his rich vein of form, coupled with the fact he’s recently admitted he’s started to settle in the Manchester area, means it could be some time before Galliani gets a chance to land his man.
Corinthians insist they will not pay 'crazy' fee for Tevez
Corinthians could back out of a move for Carlos Tevez as they are not willing to pay a 'crazy' fee for the Manchester City striker - and also have concerns he could disrupt the spirit in the dressing room.
Tevez is strongly expected to leave the Etihad Stadium in January and Corinthians have been strongly linked with a move for the Argentine star.
But the club's marketing vice-president Luis Rosemberg admits they are unsure whether to take a gamble on his signature.
Rosemberg said: "I do not know if the trainer wants Tevez and what he thinks about the semi-crazy behaviour that he has shown.
"I do not know if the coach wants to disturb the harmony that we have got. If it was for a reasonable fee than yes, we would do it. But we cannot pay a crazy figure to sign him. The names do not matter [to the coach], he wants men."
Kolo Toure 'interested' in leaving City
Kolo Toure has revealed his interest in leaving Manchester City to join Paris St Germain.
Toure returned from a six-month ban last month following a failed drugs test, but has struggled to reclaim his first-team place.
And the former Arsenal defender, who joined City for £16million in 2009, is now considering his options.
Toure, who has made just two starts since the end of his suspension, is quoted by French radio station RMC Sport as saying he would welcome the chance to speak with PSG.
"I would be interested because of the competition there currently is at City," he said.
"If they [PSG] called me, I would listen to what they say. Given the very good players there are in Paris, it really makes you want to go there.
"I know I'm not the only player interested. There are other players who really want to play for PSG.
"Not just for the money, but also because there are very good investors there who want to move the club to produce good football and win trophies."
Mario Balotelli backs fireworks safety campaign
Balotelli scored twice for Manchester City in the 6-1 derby win on Sunday Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is backing a fireworks safety campaign just days after "a friend" set fire to his bathroom by using them indoors.
Balotelli hit the headlines for the right reasons on Sunday with two goals in City's 6-1 win at Manchester United.
But the previous night he courted the wrong kind of publicity by having to evacuate his house because of a fire.
The 21-year-old is backing TREACLE, a Manchester campaign promoting the safe use of fireworks.
"The newspapers got the story wrong about me and the fire at my house. I didn't set any fireworks off, it was a friend of mine. I didn't know anything about it until I heard the shouting coming from the bathroom," he told the City club website.
"Luckily, nobody was injured, and my friend apologised to me for the damage to my house. It was a really stupid thing for him to do, someone could have been really hurt, and I was really, really angry with him about it.
"They can be very dangerous if they are not used in the right way. People should follow the firework code."
More detail on the firework code and of local organised bonfire events is available on http://www.safe4autumn.com.
MANCITYFANS.NET THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=40596
[spoiler]Melissa Castagnoli
[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal are contemplating a £12m bid for Aston Villa midfielder Barry Bannan in the January transfer window. Caught Offside
Liverpool have moved ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign £2m-rated 14-year-old central midfielder Seyi Ojo from MK Dons. Daily Mirror
Bolton defender Gary Cahill has put Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham on alert by criticising his side's current form. The London trio are considering making bids for the England player in January. Metro
According to reports in Spain, Real Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero is set to snub interest from Arsenal and sign for Malaga instead. TalkSHIT
Striker Andy Johnson is being linked with a move away from Fulham, with London rivals QPR ready to snap him up in January. Footy Latest
QPR defender Anton Ferdinand will meet manager Neil Warnock on Tuesday before deciding whether to formally complain over an alleged racist slur made by Chelsea and England captain John Terry during Sunday's victory over the Blues at Loftus Road. Daily Telegraph
Both sets of players from that match were involved in a furious tunnel bust-up after the full-time whistle. Daily Mail
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is considering dropping defenders Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra for Saturday's match at Everton following the humiliating 6-1 home loss to Manchester City. Daily Mirror
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola believes Manchester United are still one of the best teams in the world despite their 6-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Sunday. TalkSHIT
Blackburn manager Steve Kean has received another pledge of support from Anuradha Desai, the club's chairwoman, amid growing dissatisfaction at Ewood Park. the Times
A Chinese consortium have scrapped a £20m deal to buy Nottingham Forest. the Sun
John Terry was forced to apologise to hundreds of fans - after they believed he was due to open a pet shop. The Chelsea and England captain had been expected to attend the opening of Reptile Kingdom on Ewell Road. Owner Terrence Clark said he had organised Terry's appearance through a mutual friend, but the defender insists that was not the case and therefore did not appear. Daily Telegraph
Newcastle are ready to exploit their superb start to the season by tempting fans back with cut-price tickets. From 1400 BST on Monday, current St James' Park season-ticket holders, who have seen their team make an unbeaten start to the season, will be able to buy more at a discount of 50%. Daily Mail
Manchester United fans are angry with Alex Ferguson after Sundays massive 1-6 derby defeat to City. They are particularly annoyed with him for resting Howard Webb for such an important game.
Stumbling drunk Czech referee sends off three players for no reason
Czech police were forced to breathalyse a referee after he sent off three players for no apparent reason and spent a lot of his time on the floor.
Tomas Fidra, who reportedly 'smelt like a brewery', had been celebrating his birthday before the game.
The Czech referee had a few too many before taking to the pitch (PA)
After spending much of the early minutes of the match stumbling around the pitch and falling over, the official then decided to send off three Jestrabi Lhota players for no reason.
Karel Dusek, an official from the Jestrabi Lhota club, told the Lidove Noviny newspaper that the boozed-up referee 'didn't try to hide that he had been celebrating'.
He explained that under current rules there is nothing that bans a drunken referee from taking charge of a fixture, so the game continued with Jestrabi down to just eight players.
The game ended 1-1 after the opposition, Tynec-nad-Labem, agreed not to attack following the bizarre dismissals.
'If we had refused to continue to play, we could have been sanctioned,' Mr Dusek added.
In the end the match was annulled by the regional football authority on the basis of fair play.
Meanwhile, the official, who had a 1.94 per cent alcohol level in his blood when he was tested by police is facing a possible 12-month suspension for his actions
TERRY FUCKWIT
Sensing an opportunity to add weight to the argument that Chelsea captain John Terry is a prick, everyone is suddenly a qualified lip-reader, it emerged last night.
Terry was seen screaming in the direction of QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, though replays are inconclusive as to the exact words used, unless of course you’re now an expert in that sort of thing.
QPR fan Trevor Colthart told us, “It’s clear as day, he’s quite obviously mouthing ‘I will impregnate your lady friend’ – and I only hope the FA throw the book at him, or at least his genitals.”
Armchair supporter Dave Smith told us, “I’ve watched it a few times, and I’m pretty sure he’s saying ‘Two grand for a personal tour of Stamford Bridge’ – which makes much more sense to me.”
“Though from the other angle it does look like ‘My Dad will do you a good deal if you buy a kilo’. So who knows what he actually said?”
Terry accused of racist abuse
Chelsea supporter’s have backed their captain, with one explaining, “Just because he’s a lying philanderer from a family of criminals and with a track record of taking cash bungs doesn’t make him a racist.”
“If anything, he’s probably too busy being morally reprehensible to even notice the colour of the skin of the people he regularly abuses.”
We contacted lip-reading expert Margaret Willows, who told us, “You called me up because a footballer said something mean to another footballer? Dear God, give me strength.”
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