This is why Balotelli left City

The former Manchester coach revealed in an interview with 'L'Equipe' why Balotelli left the team and returned to Italy.

Everything started with a little fight which caused his departure.

"In a training session, I said to players not to make stupid tackles on Gael [Clichy] because he was just coming back from injury. And then, Mario made a strong tackle on him. I was furious," Mancini explained.

"I grabbed him by the collar wanting to push him but he is so strong physically I couldn't move him. From seeing the pictures, you would think that we came to blows but nothing happened.

He continued: "He came into conflict with some team-mates because of his behaviour, and he wanted to return to Italy. I was disappointed that he wanted to leave because he should have done so much more in an extraordinary championship".