---
title: "Berlusconi recants ‘rotten apple’ comment"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/berlusconi-recants-rotten-apple-comment/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "TT Staff"
section: "Manchester City Football Club"
published: "2013-01-15T14:22:31Z"
modified: "2013-01-15T14:22:31Z"
---

# Berlusconi recants ‘rotten apple’ comment

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Inter-milan-stadium-San-siro-giuseppe-meazza-150x150.jpg)Here at the Football Transfer Tavern our punters could be forgiven for thinking that [Silvo Berlusconi](https://www.transfertavern.com/) just likes his name in the press, and according to the report in [Gazzetta Dello Sport](https://english.gazzetta.it/Football/14-01-2013/berlusconi-sorry-balotelli-door-open-for-mario-again-913829148487.shtml) today we can see why.

The colourful character has now recanted the remarks he made about [Manchester City’s](https://www.transfertavern.com/) equally colourful striker Mario Balotelli. Berlusconi of course called the player ‘a rotten apple’ and went even further by claiming he did not convince him ‘as a man’. Balotelli has of course been heavily linked with a move back to Italy this transfer window with AC Milan having looked like the [most likely destination](https://www.goal.com/en/news/596/exclusive/2012/12/28/3632685/ac-milan-prepare-balotelli-bid-as-pato-robinho-near-san-siro).

After these comments however, it looks like the striker had better take one of the [100 chances](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20908006) Roberto Mancini was set to offer. However football being football, Berlusconi has now backtracked on the comments, stating: “I was talking about the fact that you need positive figures in the dressing room. I wasn’t referring to Balotelli and I apologise if it was taken to be about him.”

Quite what Balotelli makes of this ‘apology’ remains to be seen, but it does seem to open the door for a possible move to Italy. Well it did until Berlusconi was questioned about the possibility of signing Mario and added: “I’ve never heard of any sort of negotiation between him and anyone at my club, and neither Galliani nor Allegri has identified him as a transfer target.”

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