Mario Balotelli is New Face of Puma

Sports brand Puma has signed a deal with AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli as the latest face of the brand alongside sprinter Usain Bolt, golfer Rickie Fowler and fellow soccer stars Sergio Agüero, Cesc Fàbregas, Marco Reus, and Radamel Falcao.

The Italian international debuted his new Puma boots, the evoPOWER Stampa FG in last week's 2-2 draw with Roma and once again wore them on Sunday's Milan derby.

NY Daily News reports that, Puma CEO Björn Gulden was excited about the deal: "Mario Balotelli is a world class football player who will become a key ambassador for PUMA as his passion, speed, agility and power make him a perfect fit for our brand. With the FIFA World Cup in Brazil ahead of us, 2014 will be an important year for PUMA.

Having Mario to complement an already strong sports-marketing portfolio, he will support our new brand mission ‘Forever Faster’ which will have a significant impact for the PUMA brand.”