‘I didn’t think I was a phantom’ – Balotelli denies missing Brescia training

Mario Balotelli has responded to reports he failed to attend training on Sunday, insisting he is not “invisible to the cameras” that were present at the session.

Balotelli has endured a difficult season with hometown club Brescia, the 29-year-old managing just five goals in 19 Serie A appearances this term. 

Brescia president Massimo Cellino said on Thursday that he expects Balotelli to leave, conceding it was a mistake to sign the former Manchester City forward, who reportedly skipped training on Tuesday. 

Similar reports emerged in the Italian media on Sunday. However, using his official Instagram account, Balotelli denied the speculation. 

“How can you write that I am not training on the pitch? There are journalists at the centre at all my sessions, obviously with their TV cameras!” Balotelli said on his Instagram story. “I attend two training sessions a day, almost every day! How can you deny the evidence? I didn’t think I was a phantom, invisible to the cameras.” 

As well as Cellino’s criticism of Balotelli, the Italy international also had a training-ground bust-up with former head coach Fabio Grosso in November. He was given permission to leave the club in January, only to stay put before the coronavirus pandemic caused the suspension of the season in March. 

Cellino has previously said he expects Balotelli to depart the club at the end of the season as the striker “no longer has his head with us”.

“I try to avoid legal action and the Balotelli case was blown out of proportion because there’s no football and little else to talk about,” he told Telelombardia. “He no longer has his head with us and I am taking his departure for granted. It’s not necessarily different to what he’s always done in his career – he’s just a bit anarchic.

“His contract is automatically annulled in case of relegation into Serie B, so with all probability he’ll be a free agent next season, considering our status.

“We didn’t sign Balotelli just as a media coup, we really did believe he could’ve given us an important contribution on the pitch. I thought, because I like him, that he could create something new for himself in Brescia. We are disappointed in him.”

Brescia are nine points from safety with 12 games to play, with Serie A set to resume next month following the coronavirus pandemic.