It’s the news no Liverpool fan wanted to hear – Mario Balotelli will be returning to Liverpool.
The controversial striker, who spent last season on loan at AC Milan, will return to Merseyside on Saturday and meet Jurgen Klopp for the first time ahead of the start of pre-season, reports the Daily Mail.
If reports are to be believed, his stay on Merseyside is likely to be a short one however, with Jurgen Klopp supposedly having already decided that he will be moving the 25-year-old on at the earliest opportunity.
Balotelli arrived at Anfield with a troublesome reputation back in 2014, with many touting his time with the Reds to be ‘make or break’ for his career.
And his attitude was criticised for much of his time on Merseyside, with the Italian scoring just one league goal in 16 appearances, prior to sealing a loan move back to AC Milan.
He suffered a similarly miserable time at the San Siro, scoring once in 20 league appearances, and Vincenzo Montella decided against bringing Balotelli back to Italy on a permanent basis, despite the player’s wishes of a return.
So the former City man finds himself back at Liverpool, sitting as the club’s seventh-choice striker and without much interest being reported in his services.
Currently sitting on £110k per week wages at Anfield, the club will want to move him on sooner rather than later, and a lucrative move to China looks the most likely destination for Balotelli as it stands.
But right now, Klopp is likely to accept any move for the wantaway striker, who had some bright moments in a Reds shirt, but will always be remembered as one of the club’s worst flops of recent memories.
