Mario Balotelli has jumped to the defence of Gianluigi Donnarumma after he was given a very hostile reception upon his return to face AC Milan as an opponent with PSG.
Having been booed and whistled in the build-up to the match, Donnarumma had to move fake money with his face on it away from his goal as it rained down from Rossoneri supporters who are still unhappy about his exit.
Milan won the game 2-1 with goals from Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud after Milan Skriniar had put the visitors ahead early on, and Kylian Mbappe spoke after the game to brand the reception from Milan fans as being ‘a bit too much’.
Balotelli is of course not only a former Milan player but a fan of the club so he has the chance to see both sides of things, and he spoke about Donnarumma on the Vox to Box podcast.
“I felt sorry for Gigio, we really don’t know the things that happened to him. The AC Milan fans can’t understand, but I’m sorry because he doesn’t deserve it to be treated like this. As a footballer he cannot say what really happened,” he said (via PianetaMilan).
“I believe, however, that if he had been able to, he would have stayed at Milan. I know what happened, he is not at fault, and it is not a given to react as he did. For what the fans know, it’s okay for them to behave like this, but Gigio didn’t answer to anyone and didn’t do anything.
Balotelli also spoke about Massimiliano Allegri, the current Juventus coach whom he worked under at Milan during his first spell at Milan from January 2013 to January 2014.
“If we could win every match 1-0, playing badly, I would sign. But as a striker, if they asked me to always play it safe, little by little I would start to ask myself questions, because I would always like to be able to score. In any case, if Allegri he prepared the match like this, and he won, he was certainly right,” he said.
“He was anything but defensive. There was a certain type of player: me, Stephan El Shaarawy , Robinho… Evidently, if he decided to play like this at Juve, it’s because Juve’s players aren’t as strong as you think.
“I defend Allegri because I liked him a lot , he is a coach who makes you laugh, and this is very important in football, for me this is more important, having a good relationship with the players, than tactics.”
