Mario Balotelli branded a ‘ZOMBIE’ after captain hauled off at half-time in 5-0 loss with team bottom of Swiss league
MARIO BALOTELLI has been branded a ZOMBIE by a top coach – after leading his team to the foot of the league.
Ex-Manchester City and Liverpool striker Balotelli joined FC Sion for £2million last summer.
The Swiss Super League club made him their captain, but they are deep in relegation danger.
They lost 5-0 at Servette on Saturday, with former Italy international Balotelli subbed off at half time.
Sion had gone 3-0 down inside nine minutes, with ex-Arsenal and City defender Gael Clichy scoring from the halfway line.
The bottom-placed club sacked coach David Bettoni on Monday morning.
Balotelli, 33, has now been savaged by former Switzerland No2 Michel Pont.
The 68-year-old assisted national coaches Kobi Kuhn and Ottmar Hitzfeld for 13 years, and also managed top club Lugano.
Pont raged: “Sion have a zombie out on the pitch, and that is Mario Balotelli. He destroys everything.
“You could call their entire team zombies, but that is not true – he is the only one.
“It’s not possible for them to keep making him their captain. He ruins the atmosphere at the club.
“I’m sick to the back teeth with him. You can’t take the p*** out of an institution like FC Sion.
“Personally I can’t stand any more of Balotelli.
“Inside the club his teammates appreciate him, and he has a lot of sympathy, including from the coaching staff.
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“But it’s three coaches now who have hit a brick wall with him.
“When your captain shows the sort of body language and attitude that Balotelli has shown, that is just too much.”
Balotelli joined Sion from Turkish club Adana Demirspor, where he scored 19 goals in 33 games last season.
He won the Premier League and FA Cup during two drama-packed years with City before leaving for AC Milan.
Liverpool signed him in 2014, but he lasted just one season at Anfield before rejoining Milan on loan.
The 36-cap forward has since played for Nice, Marseille, Brescia and Monza.