Why the 2015-16 Season Will Prove to Be Mario Balotelli's Last with AC Milan

It’s never a promising sign when a footballer’s arrival at a club is subject to their adherence to a strict code of personal conduct. Yet these were the circumstances that dictated Mario Balotelli’s return to AC Milan last summer. Hence, it is rather unsurprising that the move does not appear to be working out.

Upon rejoining the Rossoneri, the mercurial striker was “forbidden … from revealing anything about the club on social media” and told to “curb his extravagant hairstyles and clothing,” per Corriere della Sera (h/t Football Italia).
Balotelli now has just over four months left on a loan deal that will see him remain at Milan until June, though with no obligation to buy, it appears likely that he will leave the club for a second time when the deal expires.
Initially, it seemed as if the 25-year-old was set to rejuvenate his career with the move.
His first appearance back at San Siro came against Inter last September where, after emerging from the substitute’s bench, he tormented the Nerazzurri defence, hitting the woodwork with a shot from distance and refusing to react to his opposition’s constant attempts at provocation.

 

Balotelli's Milan return began promisingly.

Nine days later he made his first start of the season, away to Udinese, where he curled in a beautiful free-kick and picked up WhoScored.com’s man-of-the-match award for an excellent individual performance in a 3-2 win.
However, after the next match—in which he was one of Milan’s better players in a 1-0 defeat to Genoa—Balotelli picked up an injury that would ultimately rule him out for a prolonged period.
He was absent for almost four months with groin and hernia issues, in turn missing some of the key moments in the Rossoneri’s season. By the time he came back, the team was settled into a different formation while question marks over his fitness persisted.
Ahead of the Derby della Madonnina in January, Milan manager Sinisa Mihajlovic confirmed these doubts to Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia), saying: “Mario was never in the condition to play in a derby. He has to improve his fitness levels, as he’s been out for a long time.”
Concerns regarding Balotelli’s work ethic have been fairly continuous over the years. His swaggering style of play has seen him cast as the luxury maverick, a player who could win you a match but could also prove burdensome in times of adversity, while guaranteeing little by way of consistency.