Mario Balotelli issues brutal Zlatan Ibrahimovic response as public spat intensifies

Mario Balotelli has responded to strong criticism from Zlatan Ibrahimovic by alluding to how the Swede never won the Champions League.

The two strikers played alongside each other for Italian giants Inter between 2007 and 2009 – the summer in which Ibrahimovic joined Barcelona, with Samuel Eto’o moving the other way. Balotelli would also depart the Milanese club the following year when he joined Manchester City.

That meant that Ibrahimovic missed out on Inter’s 2010 Champions League triumph, when Jose Mourinho’s side triumphed in the final against Bayern Munich. Balotelli was part of that winning squad for Inter – the one time he won club football’s most prized title.

Ibrahimovic won a remarkable 34 trophies across his illustrious career, which he called time on over the summer, including 14 league titles across Inter, Juventus, Milan, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. However, remarkably he never won a Champions League title – something which Balotelli has appeared to remind him of.

Balotelli, currently playing for Turkish club Adana Demirspor, posted a photo of him celebrating with the Champions League title on his Instagram account – and tagging Ibrahimovic on the photo. That came in the aftermath of the Swede slamming him for spurning the most of his natural football talent.

Ibrahimovic said of his former teammate and strike partner earlier this week: “When a kid has the opportunities to make the most of his talent and does not take them, that is a pity. Balotelli had so many opportunities and he missed all of them, he just threw his talent away. This is the truth.”

The Swede continued: “There are so many who want to have only one chance, he has missed all the opportunities he has had.” While Ibrahimovic was not done there in his criticism of the former Italy international star.

When speaking of Balotelli being comparable to current Milan star striker Rafael Leao, Ibrahimovic dismissed the suggestion: “No no, you can’t even compare. If he scores, he’s a genius. Only geniuses understand what they need to do there. That’s why he’s there and Balotelli is in the stands.”

Balotelli’s nomadic career has encompassed a grand total of 11 clubs, with this his second spell at Adana following his stint at Swiss club Sion last season. Ibrahimovic called time on his stellar career earlier this year after suffering another long-term knee injury, a year after helping the Rossoneri win the 2022 Serie A title – their first in 11 years.