Advertisement
Balotelli has consistently been the subject of controversy since joining City. Eamonn and James Clarke/Eamonn and James Clarke/EMPICS Entertainment
conjecture

Balotelli is a fool and a genius - De Jong

The Dutch midfielder also claims Mancini gives favourable treatment to the striker because he’s Italian.

MARIO BALOTELLI WOULD have gone “off the rails” long ago, had it not been for the man-management skills of Roberto Mancini, according to Man City midfielder Nigel De Jong.

De Jong also reportedly told a Dutch magazine that Balotelli was “lucky,” indicating that he would not have survived at City had they hired a non-Italian manager:

“Mario is lucky that we have an Italian manager and that Roberto Mancini speaks the same language.

“Without Mancini, Mario would have gone completely off the rails a long time ago.”

The Dutchman also suggested Balotelli’s consistently eccentric behaviour was the result of the peer pressure he experiences:

“Mario reacts too much to all the people around him.

“Lots of people expect him to do the most ridiculous stunts. This is why there is something in his body or mind that tells him he has to fulfill those expectations.

“He’s thinking all day, ‘I have to do something.’

“Sometimes Mario is a fool, sometimes he is a genius. There are two sides to his character.”

Balotelli has consistently been the subject of controversy since joining City, with Mancini recently saying he would have punched him in his playing days.

Read: Alright Cian! It’s the sporting tweets of the week>

Read: Dalglish blames referee in Villa draw>