Italy striker concedes he knows too well how parents can disappear.
AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli has insisted that if following a DNA test to prove that Raffaella Fico’s child is his daughter, he will take responsibility.
The 23-year-old has been involved in a fall-out with his former partner, and on Thursday a court cased was opened in Brescia as Fico claims that the child is in fact Balotelli’s.
The Italy star has yet to meet the child, named Pia, since she was born in December 2012, but has revealed the reason behind his decision as well as insisting that he wants to be there for her should it be proven she is his daughter.
“For a whole year I have tried to reach an agreement with Fico over where, and how, to do this DNA test,” Balotelli told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I cannot turn up if I am not certain of being her father, because children mustn’t be disappointed by adults who then disappear. I know something about that.”
Balotelli is the child of Ghanian immigrants in Sicily, but was placed in foster care at the age of two and was raised by his adoptive family in Brescia.
He is known to be extremely close to his adoptive parents, whose names he regularly has printed on his football boots.
The former Manchester City striker insists that Fico told the papers about her pregnancy prior to telling him, but despite his tenuous relationship with the former reality TV star he maintains that he intends on being an influential part of Pia’s life provided the baby is his.
“I intend to do whatever the tribunal in Brescia decides is right, but I hope they won’t just ask me to pay Fico, because I’d like to also be a father and be sure nobody damages the baby with their desire for notoriety.
“I know that I am privileged and anyone who thinks I am big-headed doesn’t know me very well. I just ask for some time to sort things out for myself. Clarity on Pia would also help me in that way.”
Balotelli has recently been in the papers for all the wrong reasons, but there are signs in recent games that he is getting back to focusing on his football as Milan improve on the pitch.
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