Micah Richards has claimed that Manchester City sold a player in 2013 who was incredibly “gifted.”
Micah Richards had the pleasure of playing with several outstanding players during his spell at City.
Stalwarts like Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta come to mind to name a few.
Micah Richards says Man City sold an absolute “genius” in 2013
Richards also stated that David Silva, Nasri was the most technically gifted player he had ever played with — a tag not many would associate with the Frenchman considering the quality City had at the time.
However, Micah Richards revealed that former Manchester City teammate Mario Balotelli was remarkably talented but certain off-the-pitch problems came in the way of him fulfilling his potential.
Richards told The Rest Is Football podcast: “He was such a talented player and I feel sorry for him at times.”
“I think the money, I wouldn’t say money spoilt him, it’s easy to say that but he was more than what people were giving him respect for.”
“He was a talented player, he didn’t really work hard but he had a natural gift but we’ve all had players in teams that don’t work hard, haven’t we but they’re just naturally gifted.”
Micah Richards recalled when Mario Balotelli famously failed at pulling off a skill that angered Roberto Mancini during a pre-season friendly against LA Galaxy in 2011.
“We were playing against LA Galaxy and he’s through one on one on goal and he tries to do some sort of, I don’t know, like dragback heel into the goal and [Roberto] Mancini subbed him after 30 minutes.”
“So, on the pitch, although he was a genius, you couldn’t trust what he was going to do and that’s what let him down.”
Micah Richards mentioned once again how a better work ethic would have helped Mario Balotelli hit the heights he was expected to.
“He was still a special player and I don’t care what anyone says, I played with him, technically very good, shots but just, if he had a little bit more, go, let’s turn up to work like it’s your last, I think that would’ve helped him a little more, which is sad because he had so much ability.”
Mario Balotelli was truly gifted
In our view, Micah Richards has hit the nail on the head about how talented Mario Balotelli was.
The Italian international had every possible trait one needs to become a world-class striker; lethal finishing, a brilliant strike, technical ability, strength and endless self-confidence.
However, for one reason or another, Balotelli was only able to display his incredible potential in glimpses for Manchester City.
For instance, Mario Balotelli’s brace against Manchester United in City’s unforgettable 6-1 victory was a sign of his brilliance.
Balotelli’s technique to caress the ball into the bottom corner from outside the box for his opener and his perfect positioning to score his tap-in against a top United side were proof that he was the real deal.
The same can be said about the Adana Demirspor marksman’s brace against Germany in Italy’s 2-1 win in the semi-final of Euro 2012.
But as Micah Richards stated, the story of Mario Balotelli is one of wasted potential as he was a special player.