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Former Manchester City Mario Balotelli has used his Twitter account to finally admit he is the father of his baby daughter Pia after a bitter bust up with his ex-partner. Balotelli, 23, used his account to write in English: 'Finally the TRUTH :-) ??...PIA... Sweet child of mine !!! your Dad.' Sources close to Balotelli said the message was in English underlining the fact the baby was conceived in England when he was playing in the Premier League - and also a tribute to his favourite band Guns N' Roses. The American rock legends had a hit called Sweet Child O' Mine in the late 1980s and it reached No.6 in the British charts. Initially Balotelli, who now plays for AC Milan, had refused to acknowledge that Pia was his child despite his ex-girlfriend, Italian showgirl Raffaella Fico, 26, confirming he was. The two fought out a bitter and public battle in the Italian media giving interviews with each accusing the other of bad behaviour and cashing in. In December, Balotelli failed to attend a paternity hearing in Milan regrading the case and Raffaella then launched legal action against his parents after they were dragged into the bitter war of words. Pia was born in December 2012 and six months earlier she had called Balotelli while he was playing for Italy in the European Championships in Germany to tell him he was to be a father. At first he was said to be delighted but then the couple had their falling out and he announced that he would take on his role as 'father when it's proved the child is mine'. She hit back and accused him of being an 'irresponsible father' who was shirking on his duties. As a result Balotelli has not even seen Pia, yet after his announcement he is expected to meet her this weekend when AC Milan travel to Naples - where Raffaella lives - for a league match. She has yet to comment publicly but in another dig aimed at Raffaella, Balotelli posted on his account a few minutes later: 'What was the point of all that wasted time telling lies about me on television and in the newspaper? And what did it achieve?' Raffaella and Balotelli, who left Manchester City in January for AC Milan, split in April 2012 after around 18 months together.