Marwood: Balotelli is not a good role model

Manchester City chief Brian Marwood has admitted he doesn’t feel Mario Balotelli is a good role model and ambassador for the club.

The Italian striker has been involved in series of high profile controversial incidents since joining the club from Inter Milan two years ago.

And Marwood, City’s chief football operations manager, believes he isn’t the kind of player that youngsters should look up to, unlike Joe Hart, and several other stars at the Etihad Stadium.

"I think that it's important to make a good example,” he said. “I think - and we all know who we are talking about - that you will get people within the system who do not show the right values and the right behaviour.

"In the main, we have a fantastic group of players here.

"I look at Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Joe Hart, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott. We have a lot of players who think and behave in the right way. You have to make sure they're the role models.'