Rio Ferdinand has revealed what irked him about Mario Balotelli’s reaction to a game between Manchester United and Manchester City.
The match in question was an FA Cup semi-final in 2011, which City won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Yaya Toure seven minutes after half-time.
City beat Stoke City 1-0 in the final, their first major honour since winning the League cup in 1976.
It was the first trophy won by City since the 2008 takeover of current owner Sheikh Mansour and for Ferdinand it was a wake-up call that United would have major competition not just in Manchester but domestically and in Europe too.
Balotelli, the controversial Italy striker who signed for City in 2010, was involved in an unsavoury incident post-match.
He appeared to gesture toward the United half of Wembley and Ferdinand had to be restrained by team-mates including goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
Ferdinand has discussed that incident on his FIVE YouTube channel with City legend Vincent Kompany.
“That semi-final, that was the moment when I thought ‘OK they (City) are here to stay’.
“That was when Balotelli, remember what happened after the game? I wanted to kill him that day.
“I get on with him but at that moment in time…he was celebrating and giving gestures to our fans.
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“And I was like that is disrespectful and I was going nuts.
“He was a mad talent, what happened with his career?”
Kompany did his best to explain why it didn’t work out at City for Balotelli, who left Manchester for a return to Milan in 2013.
“He was a great person, but Mario is Mario,” Kompany said.
“With that you see everything he has, he had crazy talent but eventually players came through with talent, desire and work rate.
“Years take a toll on you, there are only so many years you can standstill.”
What do you make of Ferdinand’s thoughts on Balotelli? Have your say in the comments section…
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