See what led Mario Balotelli's decision to stay at Nice

Mario Balotelli has said Nice coach Patrick Vieira played a key role in changing his mind about leaving.

Balotelli had been expected to depart in the summer after two seasons, but the former Manchester City and Liverpool striker, who has a year remaining on his contract, opted to see it out.

"To be honest, at the end of last year, I had the intention to leave and the president and the club knew it," he told the Nice website.

"It [staying] is my choice because, first of all, no one tells me what to do. I do what I feel, I do what I want, this is always with respect for everyone but the final decision in my career is always mine. I stayed because, in the end, I preferred to stay."

Balotelli said Vieira, who arrived from New York City FC earlier in the summer to replace Lucien Favre, had "changed 80 percent of my decision."

He added: "I spoke with the president and Patrick. They way they talked to me and the proposition was good. I spoke to my agent and I told him: 'Let's do one more year.'