---
title: "Mario for Mario?"
canonical: "https://readliverpoolfc.com/news/mario-for-mario/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Ian Hugo"
section: "Liverpool News"
published: "2015-07-12T18:27:41Z"
modified: "2015-07-12T19:27:51Z"
---

# Mario for Mario?

Liverpool are reportedly willing to swap Mario Balotelli for striker Mario Gomez in a deal that will send the 24 year-old Italian back to his country of birth after Brendan Rodgers omitted him from the Reds’ pre-season tour squad.

According to Italian media conglomerate *Mediaset*, the Reds are looking to make a deal with Italian club Fiorentina that would send Balotelli to Italy on loan and see the German forward come to Anfield on a season-long loan.

After unsuccessful stints at their current clubs for both players (Gomez being marred with injuries, Balotelli with poor form), the duo could be looking for a fresh start to reinvigorate their respective careers and find their form again.

[![Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images](https://readeverything.co/readliverpool/readliverpoolfc/2015/07/Screenshot-2015-07-12-20.18.56.png)](https://readeverything.co/readliverpool/readliverpoolfc/2015/07/Screenshot-2015-07-12-20.18.56.png)

Gomez, who scored 75 times in 115 league appearances for Bayern Munich, was a part of Bayern’s 2012-13 Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League treble-winning season before being sold to La Viola in the 2013 summer transfer window for a reported fee of €20m, where he has managed a mere 14 goals in 47 appearances since.

Although 30-years-old, Gomez could be seen by Rodgers as a perfect fit in the Reds lineup, providing a target in the form of his 6ft 2 frame for incoming crosses and set pieces.

Balotelli could be looking for a return to Italy to ply his craft in a country where he has had success previously, being a part of Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning Inter side of 2009-10, and enjoying a purple patch with Milan before his move to Anfield.

He mustered only four goals in 28 appearances for the Reds since arriving in August 2014.

Liverpool and Fiorentina are both reportedly eager to make the deal happen, with an agreement from the players the only thing holding the clubs back.