Mario Balotelli says his mother cried when he told her he was joining hometown club Brescia and insists he has no fear of failing on his return to Serie A after an absence of three years.
Balotelli was born in Palermo but moved to Brescia at the age of two and his adoptive family still lives there, although his father died in 2015.
Speaking at his first news conference on Monday when he was unveiled by the club, Balotelli said: "My mum cried initially when I told her that I might be going to Brescia. She was very happy."
Balotelli arrives at Brescia on a free transfer after his contract with Marseille expired, with the club making the announcement on Sunday.
"I came to Brescia because this is my city, I can't compare this team to any other. But the goal is also to return to the national team," he said, adding that his aim was to play at Euro 2020 for Italy.
"When Brescia's offer arrived, I didn't think of anything else. There is no fear of failing, I hope to help this team grow as much as possible."
The hugely-gifted Balotelli's talents have often been overshadowed by incidents such as one at Manchester City earlier in his career, where he famously set fire to his house after letting off fireworks in his bathroom.
Balotelli also upset teammates in Italy's 2014 World Cup squad when, after scoring in the 2-1 group stage win over England, he covered the entire Italy page in a Panini album with stickers of himself and then posted it on his Facebook page.
Balotelli made his debut in Serie C with Lumezzane before going on to play for Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan, Liverpool, Nice and Marseille.
He has scored 14 goals in 36 appearances for Italy but has not been picked since an ineffective performance in the 1-1 draw at home to Poland last September.
He scored 31 goals in 51 Ligue 1 games in his first two seasons for Nice but, after failing to score in the first half of last season, joined Marseille where he found the net eight times during a six-month stint
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this story.