Neymar leaves hospital
Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta has distanced the club from Mario Balotelli, insisting the Italian champions were not interested in signing the Nice striker.
Balotelli is expected to return to the Serie A after two strong seasons in Ligue 1, with his contract expiring at the end of the season.
Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco suggested he would be interested in having Balotelli, with the striker’s agent Balotelli’s also encouraging Napoli to move for the Italian international.
Balotelli listed Juventus and Napoli as teams he would like to join, but it appears Juve will not be looking in his direction.
“Balotelli? It’s great to watch him play, he’s a great player, but we aren’t following him at this moment,” Marotta told Italian media.
“I repeat, he’s an important player and he could be useful to the national team in the near future.”
Balotelli has scored 39 goals in 58 games in all competitions for the French club, Nice.
Brazilian football star Neymar has been discharged from hospital after undergoing successful surgery on his injured right foot.
The Mater Dei Hospital in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte said Neymar left yesterday morning.
The 26-year-old Paris SaintGermain and Brazil forward was injured on February 25 in a French league game against Marseille.
The Saturday operation repaired a cracked fifth metatarsal in his right foot.
Images aired by the Globo T.V. network showed Neymar on crutches, boarding a private jet that flew him to his home in the coastal city of Mangaratiba in Rio de Janeiro state. It is unclear when he will return to Paris.
Brazil’s national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar, who operated on Neymar, has said the player’s recovery would take up to three