9 Most Overrated Players In World Football Right Now

8. Mario Balotelli

Balotelli is undoubtedly one of the most talked about footballers in the world right now, but too often it's either because of his zany off-field antics or his ineptitude on the pitch. Despite this, the Italian gets a lot of leeway from his supporters and is always lauded as one of the best in the business. The question is: what has he really done to merit that (barring two goals for Italy against Germany in the semi-finals of Euro 2012)? In terms of natural ability, Balotelli has it all. He is tall, fast, strong, skilful and a handy finisher, but time and time again over the years he has flattered to deceive. His attitude on the pitch is invariably woeful, but if he was delivering the goods in attack it wouldn't really matter. The problem is, he isn't. Despite the odd flash of brilliance- even that has been lacking so far at Liverpool- there are too many poor performances for the 24-year-old to be deemed world-class. He has not delivered on a regular basis at Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan and, so far, for the Reds. Balotelli has fallen out with, and been dropped by, the likes of Jose Mourinho, Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte, and they can't all be wrong. The ingredients are there for him to be a fabulous striker, but he is far from that right now. His unique personality actually works in his favour, because it takes the focus away from his consistently erratic performances.