Playing in the Euro with your national team can change perspective and future wishes. Mario Balotelli wasn’t 100% settled at Manchester City as it was when the season was over, so there’s no wonder Andrea Pirlo, using media manipulation, is trying to convince his national team partner to join in Turin and play for the Serie A champions, Juventus.
Will begin by saying that Balotelli has said he isn’t looking for a way out from City, despite all the rumors, willing to fight for a place in Mancini’s lineup. A good Euro 2012 should help him solidify his spot to challenge Sergio Aguero’s position. Plus, the fact that his agent claimed Balotelli’s price to be £200 million, astronomical to say the least, should keep buyers away from the 21 year old striker.
However, Andrea Pirlo, who was Italy’s best player throughout their run in the tournament, ending in a miserable final for them (losing 0-4 to Spain) enjoyed the time he spent with the youngster in camp and the three weeks of the Euro and doesn’t see any of the problems always attributed to Balotelli’s off-pitch behavior.
Would I take Balotelli to Juventus? Of course I would take him. And I know how to talk to him. We both come from Brescia and when we are in the national team we speak in dialect. There was no problem with managing him in our dressing room, indeed he was very well behaved. I’d gladly take him in Turin. Mario is a guy who needs you to stay close to him.
Balotelli scored 13 goals for Manchester City last season, but his biggest play was the assist to Agueo on the championship goal. His relationship with Roberto Mancini has had its ups and downs, being the sensitive person and player that he is, which has always led to speculations regarding his future with the English champions, with AC Milan being suggested as a potential destination.
But City have no intention of selling him, or at least no intention of showing it. Words from players like Pirlo, which might be nothing more than wishful thinking, sometimes spark something. Maybe in Balotelli, maybe with clubs. You never know what goes on behind the scenes in conversations. Barcelona used two years of public pressure to convince Fabregas to ask for an out from Arsenal. Maybe Pirlo’s praises are just the beginning in Juve’s chase after Mario Balotelli.