Brescia striker Mario Balotelli has confessed “I’d be very happy” to play for Napoli and that Zlatan Ibrahimovic once told him he “wasn’t good enough”.
Balotelli has made no secret of his admiration for Napoli in the past, once claiming that they were the only Italian team he would come back for.
“I tried,” he said during a live Instagram Q&A with Fabio Cannavaro.
Brescia striker Mario Balotelli has confessed “I’d be very happy” to play for Napoli and that Zlatan Ibrahimovic once told him he “wasn’t good enough”.
Balotelli has made no secret of his admiration for Napoli in the past, once claiming that they were the only Italian team he would come back for.
“I tried,” he said during a live Instagram Q&A with Fabio Cannavaro.
“I’d be very happy at Napoli, I’m serious. I’d make my daughter an ultras leader, since she supports Napoli.
“I sing ‘Brescia, Brescia’ to her, but she still supports Napoli. She was delighted when I took her to the San Paolo, she was hypnotised.
“It’s always a nice feeling to play there, although in my opinion the most beautiful stadium is San Siro.”
The 29-year-old was teammates with Ibrahimovic at Inter, and he revealed how the Swede did not rate him at first.
“When I was a kid, I looked at him and he told me that I would never train with the first team.
“He told me I wasn’t good enough to play for them. But then he went to Mino Raiola, telling him to take me because I was better than him.”
Balotelli played for French side Nice between 2016 and 2019, starring under Lucien Favre before Patrick Vieira froze him out.
“I spent two years with Favre, who is a bit unorthodox, but he’s a very good coach, a very good person.
“I had a great time with him on a tactical, personal and technical level. Then came Patrick and…
“He had his ideas that, to tell the truth, weren’t mine. They didn’t let me feel good on the pitch.
“My name is neither Ronaldo nor Messi, so I don’t demand anything, but if you want me to help the team then I have to be in a position to do that.”
‘SuperMario’ has long had a fan in Roberto Mancini, but the Italy CT has left him out of recent squads.
“I have a special relationship with him. I’m happy if he’s still not thinking about calling me up because I know if he did, he wouldn’t make me sit on the bench.
“It’s only right that he calls up who deserves it the most. The day I deserve it, I’ll be there playing.”