Mario Balotelli has set his sights on playing for Real Madrid in the future, according to his AC Milan teammate Diego Lopez.
The Italian international returned to the San Siro on-loan from Liverpool, a year after moving to Anfield. He has already played for Milan’s arch-rivals Inter Milan and also won the Premier League with Manchester City.
Having played in Italy and England, Lopez, who played for Real revealed that Balotelli’s dream is to play for the 10-time European champions.
“Mario isn’t like people paint him out to be. He is a nice guy and a good player and you know what? His dream is to play for Real Madrid,” Lopez told Marca Plus.
Since joining Milan on loan, the striker has made only four appearances in the Serie A and has one goal to his name. Injury has also not helped him, which has kept him on the sidelines and with the form so far in this season, it is highly unlikely that he could play for the Spanish giants next season.
The most likely situation for Balotelli is that he could return to Liverpool and hope Jurgen Klopp could revive his career, something his former manager Brendan Rodgers failed to do.
If Daniel Sturridge’s growing injuries continues, he is likely to be shown the exit door and that could give the former City star to grab an opportunity once he returns to Liverpool after the completion of his loan spell.
Meanwhile, Lopez has lost his place to 16-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma in the starting lineup. The Spanish goalkeeper has vowed to fight with Donnarumma for a place in the playing XI.
“My injury problems started after the tour of China in the summer. In the months that followed, I played through the pain because I wanted to make saves and help the team,” the goalkeeper stressed.
“It wasn’t easy to train and compete at the top level with this kind of injury. The pain affected my performance and then the coach decided to focus on Donnarumma.”
“I reacted to that decision with calmness and today, I feel much better. I have a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities.
“I will do everything possible to return and defend the goal for Milan. I’m very motivated and working so hard, in order to return at 100 percent fitness. I want to come back stronger than I was before.”
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