Mario Balotelli's mum has moved to one of Britain's toughest council estates as she rekindles her relationship with the son she gave away as a child.
While the £120,000-a-week footballer lives in a mansion and a plush hotel, Rose Barwuah rents a £550-a-month terraced house in part of Manchester made famous by TV's Shameless.
Manchester City striker Mario, 21, has visited her in Wythenshawe — driving his white Bentley GT, popping to shops and even standing his round in a pub.
A neighbour said: "Rose is a religious woman who goes to church every Sunday. All she has ever wanted was to rebuild their relationship and now it looks like her prayers have been answered."
They were living in a cramped flat in Brescia, Italy, and he was recovering from operations on his intestines.
They said the richer Balotelli family who took him in then turned him against them.
The player dubbed Super Mario by fans went on to star for Inter Milan before being bought by City for £23million.
He reacted angrily when Rose and Thomas first said they want to be reunited with him, claiming they were just after his money.
But Rose, who barely speaks English, showed her determination for a reconciliation by moving with her 13-year-old daughter Angel.
Her other son, 18-year-old Enoch, is a promising footballer in England after trials with Stoke and Sunderland while daughter Abigail, 23, runs a fashion store near Milan.
Abigail told The Sun: "My mum will be closer to Mario and Enoch but I will stay here."
And Giuseppe Toninelli, owner of the metal works where Thomas has worked for 15 years, said: "He has left. He was going to Ghana before joining the family in Manchester.
"I think they are all trying to patch up their differences."
A neighbour in Wythenshawe said: "Rose is doing this herself to show it is not about money.
"This is the house she can afford. All she wants to do is to get to know her son.
"Rose has settled in here. She works at Wythenshawe Market, setting off before 6am to put out the stalls for traders.
"Mario has started coming round more often. He sometimes strolls to the shop for her.
"He has been friendly too and signed some kits. He has been to the local pub, The Tudor, and even put money behind the bar. It is lovely that he and Rose are close again."
Mario — who lives in posh Alderley Edge, Cheshire, and the city centre Hilton Hotel — played last night in City's 1-1 draw at Stoke.
Source: the sun