by Rachel Ogbu

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has a lot of faith in his striker, Mario Balotelli.

Recently the club manager said the 22-year-old could become one of the best players in the world but he had to work harder in training.

“He has everything to be one of the best players in the world. He could be like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi if he understands that to be like this you should work hard,” Mancini said of his fellow Italian.

Mancini admitted that he did not trust Balotelli because he was unstable. “He can score two goals next week but he can also take a red card. It is not easy to work with him every day… Mario outside the pitch is a fantastic guy. Sometimes he doesn’t understand how his job is important for his life but I hope he can understand this quickly,” his manager said.

“He is 22 but life can go quickly. [He needs to] understand that to be like [Ronaldo and Messi] he should work hard, his mind should be always on your job, not on the other things that are not important. I am very sorry for him.”

Balotelli faces a late fitness test to ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League game against Real Madrid.