Silvio Berlusconi has put his foot in it with a comment directed at AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli.

The former Prime Minister of Italy was asked at Milan's training base if the Liverpool loanee is a valued player in the Rossoneri squad, to which he replied to Tuttosport:

"We are rich with individual talents, like (Jeremy) Menez, and Balotelli, who is an Italian who has taken a bit too much sun."

Berlusconi, 79, quickly attempted to backtrack on the controversial comment by paring Balotelli's qualities, adding: "Mario has unmatched athletic attributes.

"In training I see him take shots that break the net and he shows outstanding ball control.

"Several times I have said to him 'Mario, do you want to win? You need to score to win and to do that you have to get close to the goal'."

It is not the first time Berlusconi has produced such a comment as he once described US President Barack Obama as 'young, handsome and tanned' according to the Daily Mail.