Mario Balotelli responded to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s criticism, following comments from his former Inter teammate, who accused him of wasting his talent.
Speaking at a festival organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ibrahimovic said, “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 Italian forward, currently playing for Turkish club Adana Demirspor, took to Instagram to share a photo of himself lifting the Champions League trophy from the 2009–10 season, a victory achieved during his time with Inter.
In his Instagram story, Balotelli tagged Ibrahimovic’s account, making it clear that his post was a direct response to Ibrahimovic’s criticism of him.
The Swedish star had previously commented that Balotelli had ‘thrown away’ his talent.
Balotelli’s post serves as his reaction to these comments, and it was a pointed reference to Ibrahimovic’s absence from the list of European champions despite his long and illustrious club career.
Balotelli, 33, has appeared in just two matches for Demirspor in the Turkish league this season.
Ibrahimovic, on the other hand, retired from professional football at the end of the 2022–23 campaign.