Mario Balotelli seems set to return to Liverpool after AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani admitted his performances for the Rossoneri while on loan do not “merit a permanent deal.”
The Italian returned to Milan last summer on a one-year loan deal after a disappointing first season with the Reds, but injuries and inconsistent play have plagued him during the 2015-16 campaign.
As reported by MailOnline’s Rohan Banerjee, Galliani needs to see more from the 25-year-old: “We really like Mario, but he has to convince us to earn a permanent deal. Mario is feeling well. He is desperate to stay here at Milan. But like I have said before, he does not merit a permanent deal at the moment.”
David Amoyal of ESPN FC added one more comment from Galliani, who made it clear the player’s wish is still to stay with the Rossoneri:
Per Banerjee, Balotelli has scored just three goals in 17 appearances so far. He had surgery to repair a hip flexor problem earlier this season and has spent the bulk of the campaign looking for his best form, per Milan’s official website (h/t Football Italia).
Super Mario’s career has been filled with ups and downs, and at the age of 25, the Italian’s future at the top of European football already seems over. He showed huge promise while at Inter Milan and Manchester City and put everything together during his first spell with Milan, but things have been going downhill ever since.
Per WhoScored.com, he scored an incredible 12 goals in 12 Serie A starts for Milan during the 2012-13 campaign, and when he scored 14 goals the next season, Liverpool’s interest was piqued. Former Brendan Rodgers probably assumed he was buying this player:
Instead, he got the Balotelli Manchester City fans grew tired of during the last months of his spell at the Etihad Stadium. Per Banerjee, problems off the pitch and a lack of form and fitness on it plagued him from the very start of his Anfield career, and he never recovered.
Controversy has followed Balotelli wherever he has gone, and there have been so many incidents, Goal managed to put a top 10 video together in 2013―when he was just 23 years old:
While most Liverpool fans likely got tired of his lack of production during the 2014-15 season, some will have hoped it was down to Rodgers, who failed to get the team firing as a whole and was replaced by former Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp earlier this season.
With Klopp now coaching the squad, there was some hope the German would be the one to finally unlock Balotelli’s full potential. Super Mario’s blend of athleticism, scoring prowess and creativity make him a perfect fit for Klopp’s high-octane style of play, and the Reds are in desperate need of a star striker.
Mundo Deportivo (h/t talkSPORT) claimed Atletico Madrid are interested in Christian Benteke, who seems all but certain to leave the club at the end of the season and hasn’t featured much in the last few weeks.
According to Tony Barrett of the Times, his chance to impress Klopp and change his fortunes at Anfield took a major shot when he suffered a knee injury, and a departure seems likely:
The Belgian will likely have to be replaced, and even if he stays with the Reds, Klopp will be eager to add another forward to his squad. Daniel Sturridge is the clear starter when healthy, but his health has been an issue for a long time, and the likes of Divock Origi are too inconsistent and inexperienced to lead the attack every single week.
An in-form and confident Balotelli would be the perfect solution, but his struggles have lasted nearly two full seasons now, and the player he once was seems gone forever. A future in China or the MLS seems more likely than a permanent return to Anfield, where Klopp will want to avoid bringing such a dangerous personality into a dressing room he’s still trying to mould.
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