Mario Balotelli’s footballing ambitions are absolutely insane

In the words of Chris Coleman, "Don't be afraid to have dreams."

By the sounds of things, Mario Balotelli is definitely a man who subscribes to the Welsh manager's philosophy. Having signed for Liverpool off the back of the last World Cup, the Italian hasn't had the best of times. He never settled at Anfield, and his tally of four goals in 24 appearances was enough to let Liverpool loan him back to AC Milan last year. Unfortunately for Mario, things didn't improve much when he was back in Italy.One goal in 20 appearances and a couple of injury problems have seen Milan opt not to make the former Manchester City's return to the San Siro a permanent switch. But despite a couple of stagnant years in his career, you can't knock the man for his lofty ambitions. Speaking to Italian daily Corriere della Sera, he explained that he still wants to win the Ballon D'Or. He said:

“I have not done enough in recent years, I can do much better," he admitted.  "But it takes time. On a scale of one to 10, I have only reached five. But I will get to 10 eventually, because that is my goal. “I want to win the Ballon d’Or, although I realise I got stuck at five out of 10 in the last two years when my goal was to get closer to 10. I know people will laugh when I say I want the Ballon d’Or. I have not done everything needed to become the best. “But the most important thing is that I have realised my mistakes and it is not too late yet. I don’t want to reach the end of my career thinking that I have not done everything to become the best."

Balotelli says he was happy with how his career had progressed up until two years ago - when he signed for Liverpool - and admitted he had stopped putting in the hard graft. He is calm about his current situation and determind to get back to his best. We don't think Cristiano Ronaldo  and Lionel Messi will be looking anxiously over their shoulders just yet but hey, you never know.