Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has claimed that he was not surprised by Roberto Mancini's sacking as the club's manager earlier this week.

Mancini, who guided the side to the Premier League title one year ago, was dismissed by City on Monday after he "failed to achieve any of [the team's] stated targets this year".

Balotelli was brought to the Etihad Stadium by his fellow Italian in 2010 before a number of high-profile disagreements between the pair saw the 22-year-old sold to AC Milan in January.

"I'm not really surprised, but I know when I was with him he was a great manager and we had one of the best teams I've ever played with," the forward told CNN.

Current Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini is expected to take over at Manchester City in the summer.