Mario Balotelli has said that he plans an explosive return to the
Italy national team in an interview in which he also hit out at former clubs
Liverpool and AC Milan.
Balotelli has not played for Italy since defeat to Uruguay in the
final group match of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil sent the Azzurri crashing out
of the tournament at the first hurdle.
But he has enjoyed a lightning start with French Ligue 1 side
Nice, scoring five goals in his first three league appearances to help them to
the top of the table, above more-fancied Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain.
The 26-year-old was not selected for Italy’s upcoming 2018 World
Cup qualifiers at home to Spain and away in Macedonia, but on current form a
return to Giampiero Ventura’s squad cannot be far away.
“It was right not to select me because I didn’t deserve it,”
Balotelli told Sky Sport Italia.
“It’s better for Ventura to not select me this time around because
when I return, I want to be at my best.”
Known as one of the more controversial footballers of the past
decade, Ballotelli appears to have turned over a new leaf.
After a torrid end to a controversial three-year spell at
Manchester City, Balotelli joined AC Milan in January 2013 before moving to
Liverpool in 2014.
Balotelli never settled at Anfield and returned to Milan on loan
last season, only to struggle with a troublesome groin injury.
And when Balotelli returned to Liverpool in the summer, manager
Jurgen Klopp shot down his chances of regular football and advised him to move
on.
Balotelli said: “Klopp doesn’t know me, I spoke to him once, he
told me to go somewhere else, work hard and then return. So I said goodbye to
them, and that we wouldn’t be seeing each other again.”
Balotelli claimed both Milan and Liverpool, “weren’t adapted to
me”.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault. They weren’t ideal environments for
me,” he added.
“I didn’t make mistakes in terms of my game or my behaviour, but I
did get injured and that’s not something I can control.”
Balotelli said the climate at seven-time European champions Milan,
who have struggled to qualify for Europe in recent seasons, was “confusing”.
“The problem there is the administration,” added Balotelli.
“There’s only one person who is phenomenal, and that’s (club CEO,
Adriano) Galliani. All the rest is just… confusion.”
Balotelli has six goals in five games in all competitions for
Nice, where he has enjoyed a perfect start save for a red card right at the end
of Sunday’s 2-1 home win over Lorient, shortly after scoring a superb late
winner.
He puts his current form down to feeling settled with his new
teammates, and in his new surroundings on France’s Mediterranean coast.
“At the start, I chose Nice for the climate, I wanted to be in a
relaxing but beautiful place, where it’s difficult to get out the wrong side of
the bed,” he said.
“The other reason I chose Nice is because there’s a decent group
of young players. We’re all about the same age.”
No comments:
Post a Comment