Agent: Balotelli will 'die' at Liverpool unless $70M-$80M offer materializes
Mario Balotelli's agent, Mino Raiola, has nixed rumors that the troubled striker will be leaving Liverpool before the transfer window shuts on Monday. Balotelli, of course, only arrived on the final day of the summer transfer window, coming over on a $24 million deal from AC Milan. At the time, many regarded the former Manchester City striker, as the bargain of the summer, or at least, a gamble worth taking.
But it hasn’t worked out for Balotelli at Liverpool. In 21 appearance for the Merseysiders, he’s scored just two goals, and none in the Premier League. Balotelli is reportedly unhappy at the club and has been seen to sulk on the pitch. Recently, there have been rumors about him returning to Serie A, possibly to be reunited with Roberto Mancini at Inter or to join Lazio. But in an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport, Raiola insisted his client was going nowhere.
"I saw him on Monday and said, 'You’ve got a contract and I’m not taking you away. Either you leave Liverpool for $70 or $80 million and I win the bet or you die there.' "
Raiola, who also represents Zlatan Ibrahimovic, said it was the first time he had talked to Balotelli that way and the player was "very disappointed in himself."
Not long ago, Balotelli was one of the most promising young strikers in Europe. After leaving Inter Milan for Man City, he played a vital part in City winning it’s first Premier League title in 44 years, scoring 19 goals in all competitions that season.
That summer, he was the standout player at the European Championships, scoring three goals for Italy. Two of the goals came in a semifinal against Germany that saw the Italians advance to the final with Spain. He also provided the tournament with its most iconic moment.
Suddenly, it looked like the then 21-year-old Balotelli was ready to leave all his “Why always me?” troubles behind him and finally blossom into a world-class striker.
Even after it fell apart for him at City and he went back to Italy to play for his boyhood club, AC Milan, Balotelli seemed to still be on track for greatness. His tally in front of goal in two seasons for the Rossoneri was respectable. But behind the scenes something was wrong. He was becoming increasingly unmanageable and he wasn’t scoring enough goals to offset the apparently negative impact he was having on the team.
Balotelli did score for Italy against England in last summer's World Cup. However after being eliminated from the tournament, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli remarked that the striker lives in a place that is "far from reality."
In spite of it all, Balotelli remained a hot property, with Liverpool beating out Arsenal to sign him on deadline day. However, the fact that Milan sold him for such a low price said a lot at the time. Offloading your leading goal scorer should perhaps have come as more of a warning. But few would have predicted it to be this bad at Liverpool for Balotelli. So barren has his run been that it has led many to wonder if at age 24, his best days aren’t already behind him.
It’s not just his lack of goals. It’s his lack of hold-up play, possession and apparent effort. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has reportedly lost all faith in him. But at this point, you’ve got to wonder, ow many top clubs out there would be willing to roll the dice on Balotelli?
His agent seems to agree.
“It’s not worth asking if Liverpool are the right club for him any more,” Raiola said. “They are the only club for him.”
