Manchester City legend Yaya Toure accused Mario Balotelli of making a "big mess" during his time at the club but feels more could have been done to help the striker flourish
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Mario Balotelli signs for Manchester City
Mario Balotelli spent a memorable three years at Manchester City(Image: Alex Livesey, Getty Images)
Yaya Toure believes Mario Balotelli caused a "big mess" after arriving at Manchester City. The iconic striker helped City win the FA Cup and their first-ever Premier League title but failed to fulfil his potential at the club.
The duo both made their move to the Etihad in 2010, with Toure coming in from Barcelona for £24 million in July and Balotelli following from Inter Milan a month later. They were key parts of the City team that ended the club's trophy drought under Roberto Mancini.
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However, despite their success on the field, Balotelli was a constant source of drama. During an appearance on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, sponsored by Qatar Airways, Toure shared what it was like to have the Italian striker as a team-mate.
"When Balotelli arrived, it was a big mess. A lot of problems," Toure said. "You're always going to have it with Balotelli. Definitely. At some point, to be honest.
"Because he was that guy where you have to be... he's nice, guys. You know, very kind. But at some point, when his head goes off, he goes off, you know. And sometimes he's unfortunate, to be honest. Because he's... I love him, yeah. He's innocent all the time.
"He's always innocent in the things. But when the thing happens, he's on it. You know, he's involved. And sometimes I was surprised. 'Mario, you were sitting there. How do you end up sitting there? Any other problem in there? Go back and you'll see'. He said, 'Yeah, I don't know.'"
Mario Balotelli speaks with Manchester City's Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers at Etihad Stadium
Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure spent three years together at Manchester City
However, Toure defended his ex-City team-mate and sought to clear the air about an alleged bust-up with Balotelli during a 3-3 draw with Sunderland in March 2012. It was reported that tensions were high when City was trailing at half-time, leading to a verbal clash before heading back out to the pitch and salvaging a draw.
"They said I fought with Mario at Swansea and against Sunderland. That shocked me," Toure admitted. "My lawyers called me about this, and it was the first I knew about it.
"To say we had a fight is very sad. It upset me, and I feel sorry for Mario. He suffers most from these things. At half-time against Sunderland, it was very difficult. But everybody was quiet.
"We were just looking at each other, trying to find a way to turn the result. But I didn't even talk to Mario. The next day, he sent me a text message saying, 'Apparently, we had a fight'. I just want to stop people writing and thinking that."
Referee Martin Atkinson shows Mario Balotelli of Man City a red card during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium
Mario Balotelli came under fire for his mentality on the pitch at times(Image: Getty Images)
In his chat with Ferdinand, Toure also delved into Balotelli's memorable spell at City, confessing that both the team and coaches struggled to get the best out of him. "Even we players, we failed him at some point, you know," Toure confessed.
"Because he can make mistakes. He can take wrong cards. He can do wrong things. But we have to be able to look after him most of the time. But we didn't do that. But me, myself, as I know about Mario, I know when he's coming to get on some point of his games, you have to be like coming hungry or nervous.
"It's like people are. Because when you're too relaxed and happy, he's not going to do nothing, you know. You have to push him and make him angry at some point to take all this out from him, you know. And for me, Balotelli, of course, I feel very sorry people didn't see all this ability.
"Because in training, we've been seeing so incredible ability there, you know-dribbling, shooting, being able to shoot from the middle back sometimes to score goals. Because he had that crazy shot on him. His power and his feet. And he's quite fast and he's a good dribbler. People will see him a little bit like that...a bit like [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, you know-the craziness. And the ability as well on the pitch."
Mario Balotelli of Manchester City celebrates scoring their first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford
Mario Balotelli found himself under scrutiny at Manchester City(Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
During his three years at City, Balotelli scored 30 goals and contributed six assists in 80 appearances. He left for AC Milan in 2013 before returning to England with Liverpool a year later.
He subsequently played for Nice, Marseille, and Brescia among others. The 34-year-old is currently plying his trade at Genoa, making six cameo appearances so far this season.
Toure, on the other hand, amassed three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups before bidding farewell to City in 2018. He had a short stint with Olympiacos before finishing his career at Chinese side Qingdao Huanghai. Toure left the club in January 2020 and has since ventured into management, currently working as Saudi Arabia's assistant coach.