Mancini: Balotelli is not for sale

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini insists Mario Balotelli is not for sale, despite his stern words for the striker after Sunday's Manchester derby.

Balotelli was selected ahead of Carlos Tevez to start up front in the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United but produced an anonymous display and was replaced by the Argentinian early in the second half. That led Mancini to say "when you have a player that has Mario's quality, you cannot understand why he continues to throw it out of the window".

Those remarks in turn fed speculation over Balotelli's future at the Etihad Stadium, with reports the former Inter Milan frontman could return to the San Siro in a loan move to AC Milan, but Mancini told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Balotelli has enormous quality, he is not for sale."

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