Mario Balotelli has no intention of leaving Manchester City despite the increasingly peripheral role he is playing for the club, culminating in being left out of the match-day squad for Sunday's win against Tottenham Hotspur.

Balotelli watched the Spurs game from the stands after being informed his current form did not even warrant a place among Roberto Mancini's substitutes. The €30 million signing has frequently found himself out of the team - in 2012 he has started only 11 league matches - and this was the first time he had not even made the bench.

"He doesn't want to leave," his agent, Mino Raiola, said. "There's no player who is ever happy with not playing in a game, but he accepts it. It's all part of the game."