#MarioEstOlympien | Replay of Balotelli's introductory press conference
Mario Balotelli: "I want to help accomplish our goals"
"This is a very big club, I may not be an expert of its history but I know players like Abedi Pelé and Fabien Barthez. OM is the only French side to win the Champions League. It's a club that's known around the world, even in Italy. I played with Adil Rami and I know other players I talked to. I want to play and help the group achieve its goals."
"I know what the Marseille supporters expect. They expect a lot from every player and that means from me too. It's normal. I hope they will always be happy with what I do. I think I will fit in with the Marseillais. I'm happy and I hope everyone will be happy. I want to make an impact, it's not a matter of life or death. It's important of course, but I do not think a player can fully carry a team. It's a team effort."
"To be fit, I think I will need to train with the group in order to play 90 minutes. It is true that I have been training on my own lately, I am in good form but I need to train with the group to be ready to play."
"In my first match here in Marseille with Nice, I saw that there was a very electric audience. All the players see it, it's something we never forget. After experiencing that, I was hoping to sign here one day."
Jacques-Henri Eyraud | "We all Already know his quality"
"We are very happy to bring in Mario. He is a player we have been following for a long time. We all believe he has the qualities, the talent and the strength of character necessary to make a difference in our second half of the season. I do not believe one person being a miracle worker, but Mario does bring us a lot. To play at the Orange Vélodrome, you need character and he has it. We cannot wait to see him at work. Welcome, Mario."
"There are always risks and gambles in football than in more traditional companies. When we recruit a player, we do not have all a guarantee that it will always work perfectly and that he will deliver absolutely everything expected of him. Mario did not score in the first half of the season and he has not played for a month, but we are convinced of the player he is. We want to work together until the end of the season. Then, we'll see what happens next."
"I do thank the management of the OGC Nice. They are football professionals with whom I have had disagreements and heated discussions on certain other subjects before. I do thank Julien Fournier and Jean-Pierre Rivère for the role and attitude they have had in this business."
Andoni Zubizarreta | "He has something different"
"Everyone knows who Mario Balotelli is. There is not just one single player that will win for us - it's the team. We did not lose our three world champions (Steve Mandanda, Florian Thauvin and Adil Rami), Luiz Gustavo and Dimitri Payet are still here. We add a player like Mario and his qualities, and the objective is that it allows us to improve the collective quality. This is the addition of a very good player with a profile that we did not previously have, Mario is able to make differences in some of the most difficult moments."
