It wouldn’t take a genius to work out that Mario Balotelli and Brendan Rodgers didn’t have the best of relationships at Liverpool.
A year on from the end of Balotelli’s first spell at Liverpool, and the beginning of the end of Brendan Rodgers’ spell at Anfield, Balo is still hoping to go back to Liverpool.
The Italian striker is still technically a Liverpool player, but was loaned to AC Milan this season in the hope they would eventually buy him.
But Milan don’t want him, and after a lacklustre season in Italy, Balotelli is hoping he will be given a second chance at Liverpool, but this time under Jurgen Klopp.
“I hope to play at Liverpool next season,” he told Corriere della Sera. “Milan decided to leave me. There will certainly not be another Mario’s back again moment there.”
But… needless to say, he’s glad Rodgers has moved on.
“I had a fantastic rapport with everyone, including the Presidents, Massimo Moratti and Silvio Berlusconi,” Balotelli said. “It was disastrous only with one… Brendan Rodgers.”
He was full of praise for his other former managers though…
“A fight with Roberto Mancini at Manchester City? I was 19 years old and after a tackle on a teammate he pushed me, saying I could’ve hurt the player. That’s it. That happened on the Friday, on the Sunday I was in the starting XI.
“Jose Mourinho liked to put on a show, but he cared for me. He actually enjoyed riling me up because he thought I’d give more on the pitch if I was annoyed. I will only complain about one thing: he didn’t let me play in the Champions League Final. If I had come on, I would’ve scored. I felt it.”
