No-one could have replaced Luis Suarez at Liverpool.
However, unfortunately for Liverpool, Mario Balotelli would prove worse than nothing.
The Italian striker arrived at Anfield from AC Milan ahead of the 2014/15 season. He was signed as a calculated gamble, rather than as a direct replacement for Suarez, but the comparisons aren’t favourable.
Suarez almost led the team to an improbable Premier League title, Balotelli scored one league goal. Suarez joined Barcelona for £65m. Liverpool eventually offloaded Balotelli on a free transfer last summer.
The striker, currently playing and scoring goals for French side Nice, also had a poor working relationship with the then-Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers.
Balotelli said his relationship with Rodgers was “disastrous” and that joining Liverpool was “the worst mistake” of his life. Coming from a man who let fireworks off in his bathroom, that’s saying something.
“Apart from the fans, who were fantastic with me, I must be honest, and the players, who I had a good rapport with, I didn’t like the club,” Balotelli said.
“I had two coaches, Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp. As people they didn’t make a good impression on me. I didn’t get along with them.”
It appears Rodgers wasn’t a fan of Balotelli either. The Celtic manager was asked earlier this week, at the club’s end of season awards ceremony, to name the best player he coached.
“Mario Balotelli,” Rodgers joked.
“He was a fantastic player.”
Needless to say, Balotelli definitely isn’t the best player Rodgers has coached during his career.
However, his reply to Rodgers was a lot a sharper than his skills in front of goal when at Anfield.
Balotelli responded on Twitter to his former manager’s jibe, tweeting: “Brendan Rodgers, you are also the best manager I ever had. Amazing.”
Brendan Rodgers you are also the best manager I ever had😂😘😘. Amazing.
— Mario Balotelli (@FinallyMario) May 3, 2017
The Italian striker has a respectable 16 goals in 26 games for Nice this season. We can’t see him signing for Celtic anytime soon though.
