Manchester City have saved a fortune in selling Mario Balotelli to AC Milan yesterday.

The Daily Express says City have saved themselves an eye-watering £22.5 million in wages by off-loading Balotelli to AC Milan.

Balotelli, it is understood, received no pay-off on the two and a half years left on his contract, which was worth around £9m a year - or £175,000 a week.

Coupled with the massive savings on the wages for a player who was doing little for them, insiders say they have actually made a profit on Balotelli. They bought him for about £18m in 2010 - not the £24m frequently quoted.

Details of the deal emerged last night, revealing that they have sold him for £20m in fixed payments with a further £5m to come in add-ons, £4m of which are said to be "easily attainable".