Mario Balotelli finally accepts Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi point and "biggest mistake"

Man UTD boss Ralf Rangnick after Watford draw

Premier League golden boot: Salah enjoys healthy lead atop standings

Lionel Messi shows off outrageous skill in PSG mini-game

Ukraine: Residents of Melitopol block Russian convoy

Antonio Conte on the FA Cup

Chelsea v Liverpool: Pictures

Ancelotti and Pochettino hail Mbappe after Champions League winner

Hartlepool United fan Jeff Stelling ready to step in and save club

Manchester United v Watford: Pictures

Klopp gives update on Thiago after injury blow

Mario Balotelli has accepted he missed the chance to become a player on a par with the greats of the game, admitting his attitude at Manchester City held him back.

The enigmatic striker is back in the Italy squad after more than three years in the international wilderness, recalled to the Azzurri setup by former City boss Roberto Mancini.

Now with his seventh permanent club since leaving the Etihad in 2103, the 31-year-old has found a home with Turkish outfit Adana Demirspor.

In 20 Super Lig games this season, Balotelli has 10 goals and finally looks back to somewhere near the kind of form which made him one of the most watchable players in European football.

Never short of confidence, after winning his Golden Boy award in 2010, he infamously claimed that the only player “a little stronger” than him was Barcelona icon Lionel Messi.

He also predicted that the award given to him as the best European player under the age of 21 would translate to a Ballon d’Or in the future.

But for all of his flashes of quality, Balotelli failed to ever truly scale the heights he once set out for himself.

During an interview with his former City teammate Nedum Onuoha, a moment in which he compared himself to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was