“You were scared…” - Mario Balotelli brutally hit back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic's claim ex-Man City star failed to “exploit his talent”

Mario Balotelli hit back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic's claim that the former Manchester City star failed to “exploit his talent”.

Despite having shared a dressing room at Inter between 2007 and 2009, Balotelli and Ibrahimovic have been engaged in a public feud.

The conflict began when Ibrahimovic was asked to compare the Italian with AC Milan attacker Rafael Leao.

As per Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport, the retired Sweden attacker said: “When a kid has the chance to exploit his talent and misses opportunities it's a shame.

“Balotelli had many, 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”.

Balotelli did not take kindly to Ibrahimovic's comments, however, and was quick to fire back on social media.

The 33-year-old shared a picture on Instagram of himself as an Inter player in 2010 holding the Champions League, one of few major domestic trophies that eluded Ibrahimovic in his glittering career.

Moreover, Balotelli tagged the Swede in the post and captioned it with three heart emojis.

Elsewhere, the striker also commented on an Instagram post sharing Ibrahimovic's original comments.

On the post, Balotelli said: “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 was drawing reference to the Nerazzurri's defeat to Manchester United in the 2008-09 season, where both the Italian and Swede started up-front for Inter.

Ibramovic left Serie A side for Barcelona the following summer and consequently missed out on Inter's 2010 Champions League win.

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Topics: Football, Mario Balotelli, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Inter Milan

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.