Genoa appear to rip off West Ham with Mario Balotelli unveiling

Striker’s return to Serie A was marked with a Super Mario-inspired video which felt rather familiar for West Ham fans

Super Mario has had a reboot, but the game is up for Genoa’s social media team after pinching a Nintendo-inspired idea from West Ham to announce Mario Balotelli has signed.
West Ham fans were quick to spot that a video game-style clip marking Balotelli’s return to Serie A was a rip off of the London club’s 2018 signing of João Mário, now at Besiktas.
🪙🔴🔵🪙 pic.twitter.com/8QupBPZBJv
In both videos, a black Mario is depicted in pixelated style in front of a football stadium in a platform format play on the 1990s video game featuring an Italian plumber.
For Genoa, it seems imitation is the most sincere form of flattery to announce a signing that ends Balotelli’s stint as a free agent after leaving Turkish club Adana Demirspor in the summer. “I am pumped,” the striker said on Monday. “I don’t want to talk much. I just want to get started. I’ll give it my all.”
Here we go. #WelcomeMario pic.twitter.com/NkGInrbr2c
The Italian, 34, had spells in Turkey and Switzerland after leaving Monza in 2021. He emerged as an in-demand talent under Roberto Mancini at Inter, making his debut in 2007 and helping the Serie A giants to three league titles. He then played a role in winning the treble under Jose Mourinho in 2010.
The former Italy international linked back up with Mancini at Manchester City, where he helped the Premier League club to a famous title victory in 2011/12. Balotelli went on to join AC Milan, Liverpool, Nice and Marseille. The striker has also scored 14 goals in 36 international appearances.
Despite heading towards the end of his career, Balotelli has still enjoyed success in front of goal, scoring seven times in 16 appearances for Adana Demirspor in a stint hampered by a knee injury. His last Serie A appearance came in the 2019/20 campaign at Brescia, where he scored five times in 19 matches.