Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci has slammed Mario Balotelli for his attitude and stressed that the national team do not require prima donnas such as the AC Milan forward.
The mercurial Italian forward has been persona-non-grata for Antonio Conte since he took charge of the Azzurri after the World Cup in 2014, and the Azzurri boss has kept insisting that Balotelli needs to do more to get into the team.
Balotelli struggled in his only season at Liverpool and was shipped out on loan to AC Milan last summer, but very little has changed when it comes to his form, even after he returned to Italy.
The striker scored a stunning goal against Germany in the European Championship semi-final in 2012, but Balotelli has not even made it to the preliminary squad this time around.
And Bonucci feels Balotelli should have realised that the Azzurri have no place for prima donnas and should have mended his ways, which he could not do in recent years.
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The Italy defender was quoted as saying by Sky Italia: “Mario needed to be smarter and try to change, but he has not yet done so.
“He should have understood that we do not have time for prima donnas, we have to make ourselves available.
"If he realised his mistakes then he would become one of the best players in the world."
Balotelli is unlikely to add to his 33 caps for Italy in the near future, and his future in club football also seems to be in the doldrums as neither AC Milan nor Liverpool appear keen to have him in their squad for next season.
