Balotelli on brink of shock Liverpool move
Print Edition
MARIO Balotelli is on the brink of a shock move to Liverpool, media in England and Italy reported yesterday, two weeks after Reds boss Brendan Rodgers ruled out a bid for the controversial striker.
According to sports channel Sky Italia, AC Milan has agreed to let the 24-year-old move to Anfield and a transfer worth 20 million euros (US$27 million) is being wrapped up.
Balotelli, who spent 2½ years with English Premier league champion Manchester City up to 2013, left the club’s Milanello training ground yesterday for possibly the last time.
“Mario Balotelli left Milanello’s sporting center at 1330 (local time) after saying goodbye to his teammates,” Milan said in a statement.
“Before going through the gates, he said goodbye to members of Milan’s press office.”
Balotelli had earlier told Sky Italia: “This will be my last day at Milanello.”
The reported move is being seen as a sign of Liverpool’s frustration at being unable to land a top quality replacement for Luis Suarez following the Uruguayan’s World Cup departure for Barcelona.
During Liverpool’s tour of the United States earlier this month, Rodgers had appeared to close the door on a move for Ballotelli, saying: “I can categorically tell you that he will not be coming to Liverpool.”
Balotelli scored 14 goals in 30 league appearances for Milan last season. He netted 12 times in 13 matches the previous campaign, helping the team to a third-place finish in Serie A.
The striker’s three years (2010-13) with Manchester City were overshadowed by his off-pitch antics, which included car crashes, setting fireworks off in his bathroom and an incident in which he threw a dart at a youth-team player.
He was regularly at loggerheads with then City boss Roberto Mancini and clashed with some teammates while producing only flashes of his undoubted star quality.
Liverpool has reportedly targeted Monaco’s Radamel Falcao as its first-choice replacement for Suarez but appear to have made little headway in its attempts to secure the Colombian, who missed the second half of last season and the World Cup with a serious knee injury.
A return to England and a fresh start could suit Balotelli. The striker has been subjected to criticism in his home country for a perceived poor attitude during Italy’s World Cup campaign, which ended with the Azzurri flying home at the end of the group stage.
As the most prominent black player in Italy and the first to represent the country at a major tournament, Balotelli has also had to endure regular racist abuse of a kind which is now rare in English stadiums.
Milan can now turn its attention to FC Porto striker Jackson Martinez, who impressed at the World Cup with Colombia as a replacement for Balotelli.
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