Wesley Sneijder: Mario Balotelli could be One of the Best Strikers in the World

Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder has been full of praise about his former San Siro teammate and current Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli.

Sneijder believes that Balotelli has everything what it requires to become one of the best in the world, but at the same time he advised the 20-year-old City star to become a more controlled person both on and off the field.

Here, it is noteworthy that Mario Balotelli very often makes the newspaper headlines for all the wrong reasons. He was also fully criticized by former Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho for his attitude.

However, Sneijder has rated Balotelli as one of the top class and immensely potential player whom, he thinks, could once be in the same class of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Sneijder said,

“He has a personality. Sometimes as a player he is amazing because he can do crazy things on the pitch. But outside of the pitch he can do crazy things, stupid things sometimes. He knows this because I talked many times with him last year. He is still young and sometimes he loses control”

Wesley Sneijder, who was one of the best players of World Cup 2010, may have said some good things about Mario Balotelli, who moved to Manchester City during last summer for a transfer fee of £24 million, but whether the Italian international would be a success story depends on his ability to keep himself away from controversies.

Manchester City Closing in on £24m Mario Balotelli Deal

Manchester City is reportedly very close to complete the Mario Balotelli deal worth £24 million. Reports available in the Italian media suggest the Inter Milan striker has already agreed a five-year contract with a weekly salary of £65,000.

Manchester City faced stiff competition from city rivals Manchester United to secure the service of the Italy U-21 international. Even United was ready to hand him a better salary. Chelsea was another strong suitor of Balotelli.

Mario Balotelli has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City throughout the summer. City manager Roberto Mancini, who handed Balotelli his Inter Milan debut in 2007, is believed to make at least one more big-money signing with Aston Villa midfielder James Milner being his priority.

The signing of Mario Balotelli could be announced officially in the next few days after the completion of the player’s medical. Once the deal is done, City’s total summer signing would reach around £100 million.

Manchester City has been in a spending spree since last summer. They have already made some big-money deals to sign the players like David Silva, Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov this summer.

Last summer, City spent around £120 million, and now it looks City’s spending this summer would surpass what they spent last summer.

Mario Balotelli is a highly rated striker and believed to be a future star of Italy national football team. The 19-year-old has represented Inter Milan in 59 Serie A matches so far and found the back of the net on 20 times. For Italy U-21 team, he has scored 6 goals in 16 appearances.

Arsene Wenger Interested to Sign Italy U21 Striker Mario Balotelli

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has shown interest in 19-year-old Italian striker Mario Balotelli who has already represented Italy at U-21 level. The young prodigy is currently playing for Inter Milan, but there is every possibility that Inter manager Jose Mourinho might let Balotelli move to Arsenal, if Inter can sign Goran Pandev from Lazio in January transfer window. Reports out in the media suggest that Mourinho is not yet impressed by the prospect of the young striker.

Arsene Wenger last month said that he liked Mario Balotelli and felt that the player could become one of the greatest. Hearing such words from someone like Wenger, any young player would love to move to Arsenal, which has become a breeding place of future stars during the managerial stint of Arsene Wenger. Now, it is pretty much certain that Wenger would try to sign the young striker in winter transfer window. Wenger is well-known for his ability to recognize future stars and nurture their potential.

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