Roberto Mancini, though, denied he had grown frustrated with the player.
Roberto Mancini: "I invest a lot of time with all players.
"With Mario, maybe more.
"But I think that Mario is in the history of the club because we won three trophies in two-and-a-half-years, and he scored an important goal in big matches like Manchester United away. He did very well.
"We love Mario and he deserves to have this chance. For me, he was not a problem. For me, Mario was like another one of my children. Mario is this.
"You can be upset with him sometimes, but afterwards he's a lovely lad."