27.01.2014 » Balotelli: "Cristiano Ronaldo is the perfect footballer"
Mario Balotelli is one of those players who will always generate controversy, no matter what he does or what he says. Last week, while attending a football boots launching event organized by Puma, the former Manchester City striker spoke a few words to the journalists in order to comment about the recent winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2013, the Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo. In Balotelli's opinion, the award was more than deserved, since the Portuguese player sets an example to all other professionals and is according to his own words, "sheer perfection as a footballer". The two players can still meet each other this season, as both AC Milan and Real Madrid have qualified for the UEFA Champions League last-16 stage, where they'll lock horns with Atletico Madrid and Schalke 04 respectively.
Mario Balotelli - AC Milan 2013/2014:
If Balotelli is often criticized for his poor behaviour as a professional athlete, with Cristiano Ronaldo the scenario is quite the opposite. It's no secret that the two players share an immense talent and passion for the sport, but have indeed a very different attitude and standards towards their own work ethics and professionalism conducts. If Balo is capable of throwing a party just the night before an important game for his club, Ronaldo would rather spend 1 hour more of his time perfecting a particular skill, straight after a training session is over.
Balotelli: "Cristiano Ronaldo was a fair winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or. He's a greath athlete, who works a lot and does it well. He's sheer perfection as a football player", remarked the 23-year Italy international, who hopes to lead his home nation to glory in next summer's 2014 FIFA World Cup, in Brazil. Italy was drawn in Group D, with England, Uruguay and Costa Rica.
The man who completed a 26 penalty-kick streak always scoring (ended up missing against Napoli, with Pepe Reina in the goal), has been in great form in 2014. Balotelli has already scored for AC Milan in 4 occasions in the club's last 4 games and seems to be reacting very well to the new Rossoneri coach appointed just a few weeks ago, the former AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder, Clarence Seedorf, now aged 37.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be against Espanyol, next Tuesday night, for the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals (January 28, 2014). You can watch Juventus live stream, Real Madrid vs Espanyol, Liverpool vs Everton, Manchester United vs Cardiff City and Southampton vs Arsenal, all matches provided from our football soccer live section.
Real Madrid next game:
Real Madrid vs Espanyol kick-off time (28-01-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 03:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 21:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 20:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 18:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 15:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 12:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 04:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / sportsdirectnews.com / marca.com
