Liverpool flop Mario Balotelli has questioned why he has such a chequered reputation in a passionate defence of his career and public image
Mario Balotelli has defended his career despite having a rather chequered reputation. The Italian joined Liverpool in a £16m deal from AC Milan in the summer of 2014 but ended up flopping at Anfield.
Previously labelled as ‘unmanageable’ by his former Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho, he fell out with Reds boss Brendan Rodgers and was sent back on loan to AC Milan after just one season at Anfield.
Liverpool eventually offloaded him to Nice on a free transfer in the summer of 2016 after Jurgen Klopp made it clear that the Italian was not part of his plans and made him train with the Under-18s during pre-season, with both Balotelli and his agent, Mino Raiola, critical of the German as a result following his move to France.
Raiola, slammed Klopp for his treatment of the Italian days after the striker’s transfer to France was confirmed, saying to Gazzetta dello Sport: “In the end, the higher-ups at Liverpool admitted that Klopp was wrong (to send Balotelli to train with the reserves).
“I’m not trying to judge him as a coach – although, for me, he’s not a good coach – but he didn’t understand that Balotelli is, whatever else, a person.
“Mario has been exemplary. He never complained about training alone. To say that it was wrong of Klopp would be an understatement; he was a piece of s**t about it.”
Meanwhile, Balotelli broke his silence on his virtually non-existent relationship with Klopp the following month.
“Klopp does not know me and I do not know him,” Balotelli told Italian media at the time. “I was back in Liverpool a month and a half and I spoke to him once.
“He explained to me that I could stay there but I was not his first choice and he told me it was better if I went somewhere else.
“If I got games, did well, I could come back but I said goodbye and thank you, and that we wouldn’t be seeing each other again.”
Balotelli went on to describe Rodgers as ‘a disaster’ and ‘the worst coach I’ve ever had’ after leaving Liverpool, with the Reds’ decision to gamble on the Italian ultimately not paying off as they looked to bring in a last-minute replacement for Luis Suarez.
Recording just four goals from 28 appearances for Liverpool, the Italian is unsurprisingly not remembered fondly by Kopites. Yet his Anfield stint was arguably one of the less colourful in a career littered with a plethora of more controversial incidents. In truth, falling out with Rodgers and being discarded by Klopp are just the tip of the iceberg.
But Balotelli has now defended himself, insisting that beyond falling out with managers, he has not done anything particularly contentious despite his reputation.
“I don’t understand what prejudice people have about Balotelli,” he told DAZN, as quoted by Sempre Inter. “I’ve had arguments with some coaches, but everyone argues.
“In my career, I’ve never ruined a dressing room. Today, we hear about doping, drugs and betting. I’ve always stayed away from these things. What serious crime did I commit?
“I’ve gone through moments in which I felt alone, unmotivated, unprotected. In those moments I was lucky enough to have my family close by.
“It helped me to undertake a psychological journey, because I think we all have traumas. This journey has changed me a lot, because now I’m more aware of myself, and this is an important weapon for me, because I learned how to control myself. My regret is not having done it earlier.”
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