Mario Balotelli hits back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he slammed his football career

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·16. Oktober 2023

Mario Balotelli hits back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he slammed his football career

Highlights

Zlatan Ibrahimovic criticises Mario Balotelli for not fully realizing his potential despite numerous opportunities to excel in football.
Balotelli hits back at Zlatan, reminding him that he has won the Champions League while Zlatan never did.

Mario Balotelli has had a decent career. The Italian forward made his professional debut in 2006 with Lumezzane and went on to play for the likes of Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan and Liverpool. He also represented his country on 36 occasions, scoring 14 times.

But, despite the success he has enjoyed, there is an argument that he hasn't hit the heights expected of him. At the start of his career, 'Super Mario' was a quite incredible talent and he was expected to become one of the very best players in world football. However, various problems both on and off the pitch meant he failed to fulfill his lofty potential.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic slams Mario Balotelli's football career

Zlatan Ibrahimovic shares the opinion that Balotelli could have achieved so much more in the sport. The two players were both at Inter Milan during the 2008/09 season, but that hasn't stopped the Swede hitting out at his former teammate.

Speaking about Balotelli, Zlatan said, per Gazzetta Dello Sport: "When a kid has the chance to exploit his talent and misses opportunities it's a shame. Balotelli had many, and he missed them all. This is the truth."

Zlatan went on to say that current AC Milan forward and one of the most promising players in world football Rafael Leao is 'not like Mario'.

Mario Balotelli hits back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Balotelli saw Zlatan's comments and he couldn't resist hitting back. Zlatan scored over 550 goals during his football career and won almost everything there was to win. But, despite playing for many European powerhouses including Inter Milan, AC Milan, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, he was unable to win the Champions League.

Balotelli, unlike Zlatan, managed to win Europe's premier cup competition. He was part of Jose Mourinho's Inter side that won the Champions League in 2009. So, after Zlatan's comments, he posted a photo of him holding the famous trophy and tagged his former teammate.

Balotelli wasn't done there. On Gazetta dello Sport's Instagram page, Balotelli left a comment where he hit out at Zlatan for 'being scared' in Inter's Champions League defeat to Manchester United in the last 16 of the 2008/09 season.

He wrote: "In Manchester you were scared and I wanted to win (on the pitch). The year after we won the Champions League anyway, but Zlatan, I still love you."

While he clearly wasn't happy about Zlatan's s that he 'wasted his career', Balotelli agreed with the Swede's comments comparing himself and Leao. He tagged Leao and wrote: "phenomenon is right about this."

Where is Balotelli now?

Balotelli had his contract terminated with Swiss side Sion in September and, a day later, he signed a one-year contract with an option for a further year with former side, Adana Demirspor.

The 33-year-old enjoyed a dream second debut with the Turkish outfit as he scored twice against Alanyaspor. Adana Demirspor are currently third in the Süper Lig having won five times in their opening nine games. Balotelli still knows where the net is and could be vital in Adana Demirspor's quest to become champions of Turkey for the first time ever.