Terra

Foto: Empics Sport

During the press conference after the Manchester derby, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini harshly criticized Mario Balotelli after the Italian striker stormed off the pitch while being substituted five minutes into the second half for Carlos Tevez. Balotelli gave Mancini a not very friendly look as he went into the tunnel.

“I wanted to see if Mario did well at the start of the second half, but after the five minutes he played I saw that he was playing like in the first half,” explained Mancini as the reason to replace Balotelli.

 “I love Mario as a guy and a player, but it is important for him to start to think about his job,” he added.

“He has everything to play well but he can't continue to play like today. We want more from Mario because he has everything. He has top quality,” the Citizens coach continued.

“When you have a player of this quality you can’t understand that he could continue to throw this out of the window. This is incredible… I saw a player like this in my life with fantastic quality but in the end they did nothing. I don't want Mario to finish like this player because it’s not good for him,” Mancini finished.

Italian media has reported recently that Milan would be interested in bringing Balotelli, but his high price could be an obstacle. The ‘Rossoneri’ president Silvio Berlusconi said this weekend that Balotelli was ‘too expensive’ but they would be ready to consider a move for him if the relationship between Supermario and City worsens.