In an astonishing outburst, Mario Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola hassuggested that the player has to do quite a bit more than being self-centred if we wants to get to the very pinnacle of world football, as has been suggested by the new Nice attacker recently.
Raiola was attempting to explain his client's bad time at Liverpool and to give the paying football public an insight into Balotelli's idiosyncratic ways.
"Mario is seeking love [in a football sense]," he told the Daily Mail.
"He needs to be self-centered and to sleep, eat, s**t and f**k football.
"It has to be his priority, not a girlfriend or wife.
"If he wants to be the best, then sacrifices have to be made and then, 11 or 12 years later [when his football career is over], he can take the path he wants."
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another Raiola client, having left Ligue1 for the Premier League, French football needed a big name.
Balotelli would appear to be that man, but perhaps not for long.
"He's good for the league, but his future will be in the Premier," the agent concluded.
