Nice centre back Dante has revealed that he expected teammate Mario Balotelli to be crazier, and insists he is a great figure to have among the squad.
The 26-year-old left Liverpool for Ligue 1 over the summer, on a free transfer, following a torrid period on Merseyside, while former Bayern Munich defender Dante joined the club from Wolfsburg for a fee believed to be just over £2m in the same transfer window.
Balotelli has developed a ‘bad boy’ reputation through his off-the-field demeanour while playing in Serie A and the Premier League. However, Dante admits that the Italian not as outlandish as he thought he would be.
“I thought he would be a lot crazier than he is! He jokes around, but not as much as all that,” Dante told Le Journal du Dimanche.
“What I like about him is his reaction when we’re not good in training.
“He comes up to me and says ‘Dante, we have to be better here and here’.
“Balotelli is not egotistical, he’s really interested in our progress.”
Although he has endured a season tarnished by minor injuries Balotelli is a regular within the Nice starting XI when available, and has scored six goals in just five Ligue 1 appearances so far this season.
Nice are currently top of Ligue 1 having won their last eight games, however the Italian was forced to sit out their most recent success due to a suspension.
They are yet to lose in the league and lead both Monaco and Paris Saint- Germain by three points as they bid to become the first club from stopping the current champions from taking the spoils since the 2011-12 campaign, when Montpellier were victorious.
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