Tuesday, 26th August, 2014
Former Italy coach Cesare Prandelli believes that Mario Balotelli cannot yet be regarded as a "great" player.
Liverpool completed the signing of Balotelli from AC Milan yesterday, splashing out £16m to bag the Italian striker, who played under Prandelli at this summer's World Cup.
Prandelli, who is now in charge at Galatasaray, feels Balotelli has much work to do before he can be considered a great player, and must come down to earth.
"Balotelli is not a great player, he is only a player who has the chances to become one", Prandelli told UEFA.
"I told Mario that if he wants to become the type of player he thinks he is, then he needs to come back to reality.
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"If he came back down to earth then he could actually be a great player and not just a player who has the ability to be one."
Prandelli though has no doubts over Balotelli's character, believing he is a "good guy" at heart and has time very much on his side.
"He is a good guy really but he lives in a dimension that is far away from reality. That doesn't say anything, though.
"He is only 24 and has the possibility to build on this experience."
Balotelli watched on from the stands last night as Liverpool slipped to defeat away at Manchester City.
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