Former Inter striker Mario Balotelli has admitted that whilst not entirely satisfied with how his career has gone, he does not regret any of the choices he made throughout it.
The current Brescia striker came through the ranks at Inter before moving onto Manchester City in 2010. He has also played for AC Milan, Liverpool, Nice and Marseille.
“I know I can do more and I’m not satisfied. I still have time to make up for it. I could have been higher, perhaps, but I don’t regret my choices, nor some stupid things I done in my youth. It wouldn’t make sense now to do that,” he said in an interview with Corriere dello Sport, which appeared in today’s print edition.
“In the early years I thought it was enough to just play well and score goals. I met coaches with whom there was harmony and others who did not help me. At 18-years-old, I didn’t understand things, but I was never stupid.”
Next he spoke on the topic of racism, something he has been subjected to several times throughout his career, including a few times this season.
“They [racists] hurt me at 16, at 25, and they hurt me still and I am almost 30 and they will hurt me when I am 60 too. Racism is a form of incivility, which can be passed off as a joke but it cannot be tolerated, it must not be accepted.”
He was then asked about his love for AC Milan.
“Milan is Milan but at the same time I have no problem with Inter. Inter has given me a lot, everything started from there in the youth academy and Mancini was there too. Mancini is the the main figure of my career.”
Balotelli also went on to praise Inter’s on-form strike force of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, who have scored almost 40 goals between them this season.
“I like Lukaku, anyone who says he is not fast does not understand. Lautaro Martinez has impressed me.”
This season Balotelli has made 15 appearances across all competitions to date. In 1067 minutes on the park, he has scored five goals.
