Football legend claims that Mario Balotelli isn’t to blame for his bad-boy antics

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Johan Cruyff: Mario Balotelli isn’t to blame for his bad-boy antics…

Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff has spoken out in defence of notorious bad-boy Mario Balotelli, claiming that the Liverpool striker is not to blame for his poor attitude.

Former Ajax and Barcelona star Cruyff, who is quoted by the Daily Mirror, recently expressed his belief that the controversial Italian striker was not given the proper education when he was growing up in the game.

He places the blame for the issues surrounding the 24-year-old on his employers: Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan and now, Liverpool, who he believes should have taught him how to behave and what is expected from a professional footballer.

“What do I think about Balotelli as a player and as a man?” said Cruyff. “We always talk about the person. I prefer to talk about education of the person. Balotelli doesn’t behave well and we have to ask why.

“To me, if someone is not educated, he doesn’t play. To me, it is not fault of the player, but of the team that makes him play. The problem is not Mario, but the education that was given to him. If he had been educated in a certain way, he wouldn’t behave this way.”

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