Mario Balotelli

Italian football player, who plays as a striker for Manchester City and the Italy national team. On 28 June 2012 he scored twice in the semifinals against Germany, bringing the Italian team into the finals of the European Championship 2012.

He was born in Palermo to Ghanaian immigrants. The family moved to Bagnolo Mella in the province of Brescia, Lombardy, shortly after he was born. As an infant, he had life-threatening complications with his intestines which led to a series of operations, although his condition had improved by 1992. Mario's health problems and the family's cramped living conditions meant the Barwuahs decided to ask for the help of social services who recommended that he be fostered. In 1993, his family agreed to entrust the three-year-old boy to Francesco and Silvia Balotelli, his new foster family from Concesio, Brescia. When Mario Balotelli became famous, his biological parents asked for his return. He later accused them of "glory hunting", stating that they only wanted him back because of the prominence he had gained. Balotelli had to wait until his 18th birthday to request Italian citizenship, as the Balotellis had not adopted him. Balotelli officially gained citizenship in Concesio on 13 August 2008.