Giorgio Chiellini is one of the most respected defenders in recent history, a man admired at Juventus. However, not everyone is on the Italian’s good books and that is true for Mario Balotelli, who he has now publicly slammed.
The Bianconeri captain has opened up about his thoughts on the Brescia striker, who has had a troubled past both at a club level and international level. The two have played side by side with the Italian national team but despite fighting for the same badge in many competitions, the center-back did not hold back on his negative opinion on the player.
The 35-year-old opened up about his experiences with the former Man City starlet in his upcoming autobiography, as revealed by La Reppublica. Chiellini labeled his fellow countryman as “a negative person with no respect for team” and claimed the forward was deserving of a slap over his antics in the 2013 Confederations Cup. A quick reminder: the Azzurri finished third in that tournament and suffered an embarrassing 4-2 loss to Brazil in the group stage.
“Balotelli is a negative person with no respect for the team,” Chiellini wrote.
“In 2013, in the Confederations Cup against Brazil, he didn't help us at all. He deserved a slap.
“Someone thinks he is among the top five players in the world, I never even thought that he could be in the top ten or twenty.”
Giorgio’s scathing attack on Balotelli did not go unnoticed, however, as Super Mario quickly took to social media to respond to Chiellini’s choice of words. The 29-year-old understandably hit back at the Juve man, slamming him over lacking the courage to say this to his face while mocking his actions given he is a captain and a leader.
“At least I have the sincerity and courage to say things face to face,” the Brescia man wrote on his Instagram story in response.
“Since 2013, you would have had many opportunities to do it, behaving like a real man, but you didn’t. Who knows what you will say one day about your current team-mates, strange captain…”
Super Mario then went on to defend his time with the national side, insisting that not once during his spell with the Azzurri did he disrespect the team. He added: “If this is what it means to be a champion, then I prefer not to be one. And I never disrespected the Italian shirt.”
Serie A, the league in which both these players ply their trade, is currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic and it remains unclear when the season will resume. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what happens when these two cross paths on the pitch in the Italian top-flight.
