Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini appears to have finally lost patience with wild frontman Mario Balotelli following the Italian's late sending off in the 1-0 defeat at Arsenal this weekend.
Mario Balotelli’s Manchester City Future Hangs In The Balance
Roberto Mancini has admitted he’s looking to sell striker Mario Balotelli this summer, despite the Italian striker’s recent apology for being sent off in the 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.
Mancini said in the wake of the defeat, which appears to have all but officially ended the clubs title aspirations, that Balotelli is firmly out of favour now;
I am finished. We have six games and he will not play in the next six games.
Aguably, it’s too little too late for Mancini, as with Balotelli’s much publicized history of misdemeanors off the pitch, coupled with three red cards in a Manchester City shirt prior to his fourth this weekend, the striker was already living on borrowed time prior to the Arsenal game.
When pushed as to whether he’d be looking to offload Balotelli in the summer, the Italian manager offered little clues as to his full plans, but it doesn’t look good for the striker;
Probably - but I don’t know. It depends, because Balotelli is a fantastic player.
With Balotelli unlikely to play again this season, either through suspension or Mancini’s decision, the groveling will have to start now, and he’s wasted no time at all as already this morning a subdued Balotelli told reporters;
I’m really sorry for what happened, for the disappointment I’ve given to Man City and, particularly, to Roberto Mancini, for whom I have a great respect. As for my future, we will see at the end of the season. I’ll talk with the club and we will see.
Clearly there’s a lot of love between the two, but this weekend may well have been the straw that broke the camels back. Balotelli has been involved in numerous incidents throughout his two year stay in the North West, and while we laugh and joke about the ‘craziness’ of the man, there’s only so much crazy you can take before it becomes too much.
The biggest problem now however may be that if the club do wish to offload him, where will the striker end up? With huge wages, and no doubt a huge fee to go with it, it will take a strong club and manager to take a chance on taming Balotelli and his wild ways. As yet, no clubs have been rumored to be in the mix for Balotelli’s signature, meaning the summer could be an interesting one at the Etihad.
For more on this visit our Manchester City site, Bitter And Blue.
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