Former Inter defender Marco Materazzi has revealed he got into it with Mario Balotelli after the Nerazzurri’s famous 3-1 victory over Barcelona, though he underlined the two are now like brothers.
The incident dates back to the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against the Blaugrana back in 2010, a season that saw Inter claim a famous treble.
However that match was somewhat overshadowed by Balotelli’s actions on the pitch, as he came on as a substitute and played poorly before throwing his shirt on the pitch after the 90 minutes – an incident that angered Nerazzurri fans.
As a result Materazzi took matters into his own hands, and made it clear he wouldn’t accept that type of behaviour.
“I gave him a good beating, it’s true,” he said on Instagram live. “I love Mario, but one time in that famous match against Barcelona when he threw his shirt on the ground, he really got what was coming to him.
“Today we’re back to being more than friends, practically brothers. However, that day he did something he shouldn’t have done and that is play poorly.
“Throwing the shirt on the ground wasn’t even the worst of it. Before that match, he told me on the bus that he would come on as a substitute and play poorly. At that moment I promised to make him pay for it.
“When he came on he shot from distance rather than pushing forward on the counter. [Diego] Milito, who was on the bench, wanted to kill him.
“We believed in him, as he had scored a lot of goals and that played a part in our victories, but a week after that I asked [Jose] Mourinho to put me against Balotelli in the training games.
“After a few seconds, I sent him back to the dressing room.”
