According to controversial Italian striker Mario Balotelli, it is his fault that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won so many Ballon d'Or awards.
Balotelli burst on to the scene in the late 2000s with Inter Milan, and was considered to be one of Europe's brightest talents at the time.
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In 2010, he secured a €29.5 million (R594 million) move to Manchester City, and was awarded the Golden Boy award for the best player aged 21 and under that same year – becoming the first and only Italian to win the prize to date.
However, his care-free attitude and a string of disciplinary infringements at the Etihad quickly damaged his reputation, and he was sold by the club just two-and-a-half seasons later, to AC Milan.
Since then, he has seemingly been on a downward trajectory, enduring short stints at various clubs across Europe, including Liverpool, Brescia, Olympique Marseille, and Nice.
Speaking on the Muschio Selvaggio podcast recently, the now-32-year-old revealed how his former agent Mino Raiola, who passed away last year, believed the striker could have reached greater heights and disrupted Messi and Ronaldo's 12-year dominance of the Ballon d'Or award.
"Raiola always told me the same thing: 'If Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have so many Ballon d'Or trophies, it is your fault'," said Balotelli, who now plies his trade in the Swiss top flight for FC Sion.
"He was right, too often I played at 20% of my capabilities."
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Speaking about Balotelli back in 2011, Ronaldo explained there was one thing he believed was holding 36-capped Italian back from become a world-beater.
"Balotelli? He's a good player, but he must talk less and think about playing more," the five-time Golden Ball champion said, according to Bleacher Report.
"In the Premier League, if he knows how to listen and wants to learn, he could become a great player. I hope he achieves that.
"However, today he puts many other things ahead of his career, and this is not good."
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