"Here I'm doing well, the project is good and this team has room to improve. And Dubai is a good place to live," he said. "I don't know how long I'll keep going, but certainly for as long as I have this passion for training, sweating, getting on the pitch and scoring. Even if everything that goes on around this sport is starting to wear me down."
Balotelli also confirmed his younger brother Enock will be joining him in Dubai.
"Physically he's an animal, he'll do well," he told Sportmediaset. "And I'll wind him up..."
Asked whether he misses Serie A, Balotelli was blunt about how much Italian football has changed since his own heyday, and made clear he sees no realistic route back after his last attempt fell apart.
"I miss Italian football from 15 years ago, how it was, how it was played and the players there were," he said. "I'd love for Serie A to get back to the top. A return to Italy for me is unlikely — I'd told myself Genoa would be my last attempt, but the club got everything wrong. A shame, because the city was beautiful, the team was strong, the fans were fantastic."
"For pure quality, I still don't see players stronger than me in Italy today," he said. "Of course modern football favours players with more running and physicality. I don't see players like me — there are a lot of strong players, but not with my style of play."
Reflecting on the fact his own goal remains Italy's most recent at a World Cup, Balotelli sounded more rueful than proud.
"It's nothing to be proud of, actually it's sad. Too many years have gone by," he said.
On the criticism that has followed him for much of his career, often for things away from the pitch, Balotelli pushed back at the idea he deserved the treatment he received.
"I was a lively young guy who lived his life calmly, and sure, I did some stupid things," he said. "There was a lot of hostility toward me, but today I see the filth that's out there and what certain people get up to — by comparison my conscience is clear, I never did anything harmful to others, or hurt anyone. The stupid things I did were a young man's mistakes, and I don't regret them because they helped me grow into who I am. Compared to what I see today, there are people who should be under real scrutiny, but maybe it doesn't happen, or it just doesn't sell papers."
On former teammate Cristian Chivu, now managing Inter Milan, Balotelli was full of praise.
"He was always switched on even as a player, he was already a coach on the pitch, tactically sharp and intelligent," he said. "Inter remain the team to beat."
Asked to name his Scudetto contenders, Balotelli backed the usual favourites before adding a surprise name to the mix: "Yes, but I want to add a surprise pick — AS Roma."