 On 20 August 2018, Balotelli re-signed with Nice on a third consecutive one-year contract after a move to rivals Marseille fell through earlier in the summer.In spite of penning a new deal with the Cote d'Azur club, Balotelli appeared late and out-of-shape for pre-season training, and did not play the first three league matches due to a court suspension.His struggling form at the start of the season, as well as his growing conflict with the new coach Patrick Vieira, saw Balotelli left out of the first-team squad after making only 10 league appearances.