Manchester: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini claims that Mario Balotelli has the potential to be even better than Liverpool star Fernando Torres.
After missing out on a gigantic move for the Spain international, City were able to sign Balotelli for from Inter Milan for £22.5 million instead. And as Mancini's side get set to take on the Reds at home on Monday, Mancini believes that the 20-year-old Italy international's versatility can make him better than Torres.
'I think that Balotelli could as good as Torres – and even better than him,' Mancini told The Mirror.
'That's because Torres can only play as a striker. Balotelli can play as a striker, as a winger. He has a different attitude from Torres. But what is sure is that we are talking about two fantastic players.
'Torres is a fantastic striker and I think it was difficult for Liverpool to sell him because he's such an important player for them. But getting Balotelli instead was good for us.
'In my view there are eight or nine fantastic strikers in the world. Torres and Balotelli are two of them. Then there's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi. They're all fantastic players and we've managed to get one of them. Trying to sign players like that is very difficult.'
The Italian starlet, who is known as a controversial figure in his home country, scored the winning goal in his City debut, coming off the bench to fire the only goal of their Europa League win against Timisoara.
Mancini believes that Balotelli has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League, and the former Inter Milan manager knew of his quality when he was just 16.
'I first saw Mario four years ago when he was 16 years old and I was in charge of him at Inter.'
'It was the last five games of the Serie A championship. We had Ibrahimovic injured and we played Mario inside – he played like someone of 30 years. That's because he has good technique, he has everything.
'He has everything you need to score a goal. I think he's suited to the Premier League because it's different to the Italian Championship. The defenders in England don't know much about him, but they will see he can change everything about a game. It's the same with Tevez.'
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