QPR boss Harry Redknapp admits he tried to sign Manchester City firebrand Mario Balotelli for Tottenham.
Redknapp wrote in The Sun: "There's no doubt Balotelli is talented, but he has a very long way to go before he can be considered world class.
"I once tried to sign him for Spurs before he went to City.
"I spoke with his brother and had a meeting with his agent after he'd had a fall-out with Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
"But we wanted him on loan and Inter weren't interested.
"And that's when I thought: 'If Jose can't handle him, what chance have I got?'
"Maybe it was a lucky escape because I don't think I'd have been able to handle the way he has behaved in England."