Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini warned troublesome striker Mario Balotelli to change his attitude if he wants to stay at the club and ensure his talent isn’t wasted.

Mancini claimed last Sunday that the Italy international would be sold after being sent off at Arsenal, but he has now given his compatriot a way back into the team.

“If he wants to stay he should change his mind,” Mancini said. “I spoke with Mario a lot of times about this. I don’t think he can stay here for 10 years together with me. This is impossible.

“But if tomorrow, or in two or three years, he changes managers or squads, it is important he changes his behaviour. He has a lot of quality but he can lose it with his attitude.”

Balotelli served the second game of a three-match ban yesterday against Norwich. He avoided a longer ban from the English Football Association for a studs-up challenge on Arsenal’s Alex Song in City’s 1-0 loss last weekend.

The head of the international players’ union said that Balotelli’s behaviour is “no longer acceptable.”

“He desperately needs professional mental support,” FIFPro Secretary General Theo van Seggelen wrote on Twitter.