Mario Balotelli wants long Manchester City stay
Manchester City striker says he is delighted at the Eastlands club and has no intention of seeking an exit
Mario Balotelli insists he is happy at Manchester City and claims he has no intention of seeking a move back to Serie A in the near future.
The 21-year-old, who has already scored seven goals for City this season, was quoted as saying he was not happy with life in Manchester over the summer, fuelling speculation about a possible move back to Italy.
But the Italy international has moved to dampen rumours of a move away from the Etihad Stadium by claiming he is delighted to be playing for the “strongest team in England”.
“I don’t miss Serie A at all. Zero,” he told a news conference ahead of Italy’s friendly with Poland on Friday. “I’m very happy to be in England. Italian football has been in decline.
“The Premier League is beautiful and I play for the strongest team in England. I want to remain at City. I don’t see a return to play in Italy in the future.”
However, Balotelli, who joined City from Internazionale for around £24m last summer, refused to rule out a move to his former club’s arch rivals AC Milan further down the line.
“I like Milan. They are a great club,” he continued. “They have had many champions play for them in the past and they still do. Players I would like to play with.
“I could return to Inter one day if certain things were in place. It would take an Inter side who were targeting the top, calm fans and people who don’t want to smash my car in the city centre. For now, though, I’m not thinking about leaving England.”
Balotelli has hit the headlines for a number of off-the-field incidents since his arrival in England, but the striker claims the stories have been blown out of proportion by the British media.
“In Italy and in England, there is the tendency to write more about my private life than what I do on the pitch,” he said.
“There are some newspapers that suck. They speak when they shouldn’t, they say things that are not true. It’s worse in England than it is here [in Italy].
“People say that I’m mad, but I just enjoy myself. I am not crazy, absolutely not, although sometimes I do strange things that are considered entertaining.”
