 On 31 August 2016, the deadline day for the summer transfer window, it was announced Balotelli had joined Nice of the French Ligue 1 on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal.In an interview leading up to his Nice debut on 11 September, Balotelli told Canal Plus that joining Liverpool in the summer of 2014 was the "worst mistake of his life" and that Brendan Rodgers and Jürgen Klopp (the two Liverpool managers during Balotelli's time at the club) did not make a good impression on him and he did not get along with them.He made his debut for Nice, starting in a home Ligue 1 match against Marseille, converting a penalty in the 7th minute and scoring a header from Ricardo's cross in the 78th minute as Nice won the match 3–2.