Mario Balotelli's agent has hit out at Silvio Berlusconi following his criticism of the Manchester City star.

Mino Raiola warned the AC Milan president the he made a "huge mistake" when he described the striker as a "rotten apple" after his training ground bust-up with Sky Blues boss Roberto Mancini.

"Balotelli is not a bad apple. He is a cherry," the agent told Sky Sport Italia. "I think that in this case the president made a huge mistake, it was a real gaffe."

Balotelli has been linked with a return to Italy in the wake of his latest run-in with his manager, with Napoli said to be tabling a bid, but Raiola insists that such rumours are untrue.

"As for Balotelli's chances of returning to Italy right now, I'd give it at 0.0001%. Napoli? There is absolutely nothing in this story."

Balotelli joined City from Inter Milan in 2010.