Mario Balotelli insists he “only has good memories of the Premier League” as he included two of the division’s all-time great midfielders in his ultimate XI.
The Italian forward spent three years at Manchester City after joining from Inter Milan in 2010, and then after heading back to Italy with AC Milan he returned to England for a season with Liverpool in 2014.
His time in the Premier League may have been full of incident and intrigue off the pitch, but he did win the division with City in 2012, a year after he’d also lifted the FA Cup with them at Wembley.
When asked to name his ultimate XI during a Puma Football Instagram chat with Thierry Henry, Balotelli picked his former City teammate Yaya Toure in his midfield along with his old Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and Italy legend Andrea Pirlo.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“Pirlo guarantees you 10 goals a year, Yaya can do it all,” he said.
“That’s a good team I think, although I left you [Henry] out, I left Cristiano [Ronaldo] out.”
Balotelli plumped for the former Brazil forward Ronaldo in attack with Lionel Messi and Antonio Cassano, with his defence carrying a strong Inter Milan and Italy influence.
Balotelli also reflected on his time in England during the conversation with Arsenal great Henry.
“I only have good memories of the Premier League,” he said.
(Image: buildlineup.com)
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“The Premier League is the best. The French league is physical too, though.”
In elaborating on the controversies in his career, he added: “I always say I was crazy, but I wasn’t even crazy, I was just young.
“I was always respectful, but when you’re 16 or 17 you want to do things that 16 or 17 year olds do – going out to clubs, you know.
“But when you are a footballer there is an expectation of you.”
Mario Balotelli names ex-Liverpool and Man City teammates in his ultimate XI - Mirror Online
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