"I'm not angry with Mario". Roberto Mancini denies rumors of a rift with the Italian striker. The coach of Manchester City said on Radio Monte Carlo: "I read in the papers that I was angry with Balotelli because he was having dinner with Galliani. It’s not true, I did not even know".

"He said he wants to play with Ibrahimovic? I think, before playing with Ibrahimovic, Mario should begin to play here at Manchester City. He has only played two games, doing quite well despite the expulsion. I hope that now he will think about his experience here because it may be very useful for his career. First Balotelli should do well here in England".

On Benitez: "He is not the last one in. He is a good and experienced coach. After so many years that a team wins, there comes a time when there are some difficulties or things that are not right but I think it is normal enough because a team can not always win even if it is strong like Inter".

"In these moments we must also learn to make do a bit and then resume. Inter has the quality to bounce back because it has the players and it is still in the race for the championship despite being nine points behind Milan. In these moments we must remain united, trust the coach, try to move forward and go back up together. Inter is not going well, I think the main problem is so many injured players and Benitez has been very unlucky in this respect".