Yaya Toure says no-one should question the professionalism of Manchester City teammate Mario Balotelli.

Balotelli's time at City has been littered with on and off-field problems - he is currently serving his second suspension of the season - but Toure says the Italian striker's bad-boy image betrays his talent and dedication.

Former Barcelona star Toure, who at 28 is seven years older than Balotelli, said: "Whatever you hear about him is just newspaper stuff and I wish I had been as committed as him when I was his age."