Despite admitting that he has wasted the last two years of his career, Mario Balotelli believes he can still win the Ballon d’Or someday.
The former Inter striker, who also insisted that he is determined to fight for his place at Liverpool next season, endured a frustrating first season at Anfield before flopping back at AC Milan last season, not helped by injury issues.
But Balotelli remains positive about the future and claimed that he still has hope that he will live up to the early potential he showed in his career which earned him a lucrative move to Manchester City.
“I can do so much more but it takes time,” he told Corriere della Sera. “On a scale of one to 10, I have stopped at five but I’ll work my way to 10 slowly because that is where I want to get to.
“I want to win the Ballon d’Or, although I realise that the last two years of my career haven’t helped and have kept me closer to five than 10. I know that my goal is rather high and people may laugh.
“But I know that I haven’t done everything I could do to become the best. The important thing is that I have understood that and it isn’t too late. I don’t want to end my career with regret about not having done everything possible [to achieve my goals].
“Until two years ago, I was happy with what I had done, felt good and had no drive to improve. I thought I’d done enough but now I’ve started to work seriously but the results haven’t arrived. I have changed in the last two years.
“Now, I hope my future is at Liverpool. Milan decided not to keep me but I’m sure there will come a time when Mario’s back again.”
Balotelli also went on to suggest that there are two very different parts to his personality, one of which has been turned into something of a caricature, which has been played up in the media.
“Who is the real Balotelli? He is a football player,” he continued. “Mario is something else. It is easier to describe Balotelli than Mario. Balotelli is a character created by the newspapers, judged by those who watch him play on the field.
“Mario is another matter entirely. He is a 25-year-old guy who tries his best to live a normal life. He likes spending time with his daughter when possible, with friends, with family, with the PlayStation. If we spent a week together, you would see.”
Touching upon the racism he has suffered throughout his career, the 25-year-old confessed that it does hurt him deeply, so much so that he lost interest in representing the country of his birth.
“Some people insult me because I’m Balotelli and some do it for other [racist] reasons,” added the striker. “Two years ago, I called my agent and told him: ‘Mino, I don’t want to play for the national team.’ That’s not right.
“I was born in Italy, raised in Italy, have never been to Ghana [the country of his parents], although I will go. As far as the law is concerned, I am Italian. Then I’m insulted by people saying there are no Italian n*****s.
“If I had known what it would be like, I don’t know if I would have played for Italy. I know it may only be a few stupid people but I’m not a robot either, these things make you suffer.”

Impossible