Fabio Borini has surprisingly named Mario Balotelli as the best player he has played alongside.

Borini has played at huge clubs such as Chelsea, Roma and Liverpool so far in his career and the striker has most certainly worked together with some of the greatest ever players in the game, namely, Francesco Totti, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Luis Suarez among others.

However when asked to name the best player he has played alongside, Borini has gone with the surprising choice of Italian bad boy Balotelli, before quickly adding midfield darling Andrea Pirlo.

Asked to name his best ever teammate, Borini told Sunderland's official website: “The best player I think, potentially, is Balotelli. And Pirlo as well."