Former Teammates Engage in Social Media Spat Over Playing Career Comments
In a recent exchange of verbal jabs, Mario Balotelli has fired back at his former Inter Milan teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic following comments made by the Swedish star about Balotelli’s playing career.
Despite sharing the dressing room at Inter Milan from 2007 to 2009, the relationship between Balotelli and Ibrahimovic has been marked by scathing critiques. The latest chapter in their conflict unfolded when Ibrahimovic was asked to compare Balotelli with their former teammate Rafael Leao.
According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Ibrahimovic commented, “Balotelli had many [opportunities], and he missed them all. This is the truth. Leao is not like Mario, that shot from the wrong heel is brilliant stuff. If he scores like that, he’s a genius. And that thing makes you understand why Leao is there and Balotelli instead is in the stands.”
In response, Balotelli took to his Instagram page, sharing a picture of himself holding the Champions League trophy after Inter Milan’s success in 2009-10. The post, tagged with Ibrahimovic’s handle, was captioned with three heart emojis.
Not stopping there, Balotelli also commented on an Instagram post sharing Ibrahimovic’s original remarks, saying, “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.” Balotelli refers to the 2008-09 season when both players started up-front for Inter, with the team losing to Manchester United in the Champions League.
Ibrahimovic left Inter Milan for Barcelona the following summer, missing out on the Nerazzurri’s 2009 Champions League success. Balotelli stayed at Inter for one more year before moving to Manchester City.
Apart from his Champions League success, Balotelli boasts three Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, one Premier League, and one FA Cup in his playing career. Recently terminating his contract with Swiss club Sion, Balotelli joined Adana Demirspor and has already scored two goals in his first two Super Lig games.
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