Mario Balotelli who had booed him for his poor performance. He admitted three years later the incident was the only regret in his life. Disgruntled fans confronted and tried to attack Balotelli after the match. His behaviour on the pitch brought disapproval from his teammates, with Javier Zanetti publicly saying, "Mario needs to focus on doing what he can do on the pitch, he can't allow himself to behave like this." Amid these controversies with his club and manager, many English Premier League teams, including Manchester United and Manchester City, indicated they were interested in signing Balotelli in July 2010. After weeks
Mario Balotelli squad for the 2014 World Cup. In Italy's opening match of the tournament, he scored the team's winning goal in a 2–1 victory over England on 14 June. After the match, Balotelli said playing in the World Cup for the first time was "a wonderful sensation to experience" and dedicated the goal to his "future wife" Fanny Neguesha, whom he ultimately did not marry. Italy lost their next two matches and were eliminated in the first round, finishing third in their group. Cesare Prandelli subsequently resigned as Italy manager. Under Italy's new manager Antonio Conte, Balotelli only received one call-up