Mario Balotelli in legal battle to gain access to toddler daughter he refused to admit was his – and who he only held for the first time last month
Mario Ballotelli faced Raffaella Fico in court in his home town of Brescia, Italy- They are trying to thrash out arrangements for him to visit Pia, their child
- Maintenance payments will be dealt with in a separate hearing in September
With the selection for this summer's World Cup looming he doesn't need any extra pressure.
But Mario Balotelli will have a lot on his mind after attending an Italian court where he is fighting a custody battle over his daughter.
The Italian striker is in negotiations with his ex-girlfriend Raffaella Fico for the right to visit the child, called Pia, who is eighteen months old.
Ballotelli did not acknowledge he was Pia’s father until February this year after DNA tests proved his paternity.
He was allowed to hold her for the first time only a month ago in the court house in Naples, after the judge granted special permission.
Balotelli and Miss Fico attended a private hearing at a court in Brescia, near Milan, to discuss how often the footballer will be able to visit his daughter.
After a hearing that lasted about an hour the Serie A star’s lawyers said that they were confident he would have the chance to hold his daughter again before he leaves for the World Cup in Brazil.
Balotelli’s lawyer Alessandra Capuano told Corriere della Sera: ‘We are well on track to finding a way for both parents to fully collaborate.’
The judge did not go into discussions on maintenance payments, which are the subject of a separate legal process beginning in September.
Balotelli, who has a turbulent on-off relationship with Belgian model Fanny Neguesha, shed his bad boy image for the court, dressed in muted tones, loafers, a white vest and shirt and sunglasses.
He left the hearing yesterday with his lawyers and security, signing autographs as he went.
Miss Fico, a former model, wore skinny jeans, a tight white T-shirt and leather jacket, and strode purposefully on towering heels.
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