Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini insists he has nothing personal against Mario Balotelli.
Mancini has hinted he's ready to sell the Italian after his latest red card suffered in defeat to Arsenal.
Mancini, who has known Balotelli since the forward was 17, said: "I love him as a guy, I love him as a player, because I know him.
"He's not a bad guy. He's a fantastic player.
"But, at this moment, I'm very sorry for him because he continues to lose his talent, his quality.
"I hope, for him, that he can understand that he's in a bad way for his future, and he can change his behaviour."
Jose Mourinho branded Balotelli - who has been at the centre of countless controversies during his career - "unmanageable" while Inter Milan boss and Mancini admitted he would agree if the player did not mend his ways.
But he defended his own handling of his fellow Italian, insisting he had "punished" the striker several times.
He said: "All the people who say I have different behaviour with Mario than the other players, it's not true, totally false, totally false."