Marco Materazzi reveals he gave Mario Balotelli ‘a good BEAT’ after Inter Milan’s Champions League win over Barcelona in 2010 – and insists some of his team-mates wanted to ‘KILL’ him
- Marco Materazzi revealed he ‘beat’ Mario Balotelli at Inter
- The pair shared the dressing room during the club’s treble-winning 2010 season
- Balotelli infuriated his teammates when he disrespected the club shirt
Inter Milan and Italy legend Marco Materazzi has revealed how he once ‘beat’ Mario Balottelli after a lackluster performance.
The pair shared the Inter dressing room for three years, with the club winning a famous treble of titles in 2010 as Jose Mourinho led them to the Champions League, Coppa Italia and Serie A titles.
However, their European Cup victory was not without its problems, with Balotelli notably causing an outcry among Inter fans for his full-time actions following their 3-1 semi-final first leg win over Barcelona.
Balotelli, then 19, made no secret of his annoyance at being deployed from the bench by Mourinho and threw his shirt onto the pitch, with Inter and Materazzi fans less than impressed with his actions .
“I gave him a good beating, it’s true. I love Mario, but he really deserved it that day,’ the Italian shared on his Instagram.
Inter Milan legend Marco Materazzi (right) has revealed how he dealt a ‘good beating’ to Mario Balotelli
Balotelli (right) faced the Inter Milan fans full time after a Champions League win over Barcelona in 2010
The striker (middle) threw his Inter jersey on the pitch full time after the game
‘We’ve become friends again now, practically brothers, but he did something that day that he really shouldn’t have done. Throwing his shirt to the ground after the final whistle wasn’t even the worst.
“Before the game, on the team bus, he told us: ‘Today I’m going to play badly’, so I promised to make him pay if he did.
“When he came off the bench he went for a shot from midfield rather than going on the counter. Diego Milito wanted to kill him.
“We believed in Mario, he scored many goals and contributed to the victory, but a week later I asked Mourinho to put me against Balotelli in the training matches between the ranks.
“After a few seconds, I sent him back to the locker room,” he added.
Balotelli’s actions thankfully did no lasting damage to Inter’s European campaign as they advanced past Barcelona in the second leg before beating Bayern Munich in the final.
The striker’s exit from the club was confirmed that summer as Balotelli left to become part of Manchester City’s new era, ending the club’s wait for a maiden Premier League title.
Materazzi also explained how Diego Milito (pictured) wanted to ‘kill’ Balotelli for his actions
Materazzi (pictured) later admitted he and Balotelli had become ‘virtually brothers’
However, his career began to take a turn for the worse as unsuccessful spells at AC Milan, Liverpool and Marseille followed and now plays in Switzerland for FC Sion.
Materazzi explained that Balotelli’s father tried to make his son reign in his lavish lifestyle during his time at Inter, adding: “I really liked his father.”
‘After a match with Rubin Kazan, he said to Mario: ‘I didn’t like your performance, you have to play more for your teammates. And stop hanging out with girls!
“What an idol,” he concluded.
