AC Milan vice president Paolo Berlusconi has described Mario Balotelli as “negretto di famiglia” (“family’s little nigger”) sparking controversy in the Italian media.
Paolo is the younger brother of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is currently the president of Milan, made such comments at a political meeting in Monza.
The 22-year-old recently returned to his homeland Italy, after spending few troubled years at Manchester City. During his time at England, his off the pitch peccadillo became the fodder of gossip for daily tabloids which has tainted the club’s reputation to a great extent.
He was transferred in the January transfer window though City manager Roberto Mancini expressed sadness of losing him.
He made his debut last week against Serie A outfit Udinese and grabbed a brace that earned lots of praise from Milan hierarchies. Adriano Galliani, the CEO of the club said as quoted in The Gazzetta:
“Balotelli? I was extremely pleased with his debut. It took us a long time and a lot of effort to get his signature on the dotted line.”
However, it seems like controversy will never leave him behind. If there is anything called “Destiny’s Child” then he is the chosen one. The Inter prodigy is the Macbeth of football, a destiny’s child, who cannot avoid controversy even if he wants to.
The speech was filmed by reporters which was featured in the website of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica where he says:
“OK, we are all off to see the family’s little nigger. He’s a crazy head. All the young ladies are invited as well – you can even have a chance to meet the president [Silvio Berlusconi].”
The comments would act as an antithesis to the club’s public image overall. The Rossoneri chiefs were vocal in praise when their own player Kevin-Prince Boateng walked off the pitch after being subjected to racial abuse during a friendly match in January.
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