da betcris： Once regarded as one of the top talents in Europe, a Premier League winner, training ground bust ups, described as “unmanageable” by Jose Mourinho, and still could still “be one of the top strikers in Europe” according to Andrea Pirlo.
da cassino： It is of course the enigmatic Mario Balotelli. A man possessed with fantastic talent but an awful attitude – it is fair to say the Italian forward’s career is hanging in the balance once more.
He has fallen out of favour at Anfield and hasn’t featured for the Reds this pre-season. He was left out of Brendan Rodgers’ side that toured Australia and Finland.
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There isn’t a lot of positivity going on in the former Inter’s strikers career at the moment. He lost his place in the Italy squad last season after a poor first year at Anfield, where he scored four goals in 28 games following his £16m move from AC Milan.
His poor form has convinced Reds boss Rodgers that it was probably a mistake to sign him in the first place, and it does look likely he will leave Anfield this summer – with Serie A clubs interested in the forward.
However, despite his poor form his former Italian team mate Andrea Pirlo believes Balotelli will get back to his best.
“He made mistakes when he was younger, he knows this,” Pirlo told shortlist.com. “But I hope next season goes well for him, because I still believe he has all the attributes to be one of the top forwards in Europe.”
The fact that such a quality player like Pirlo, who has played alongside some of the world’s best players throughout his long career, is saying something like that about Balotelli should at least make Brendan Rodgers think twice about selling the forward.
But it does not look as though that the Northern Irishman does not fancy the Italian forward too much as he has already brought in big Belgian striker Christian Benteke from Villa who is looking to be the main man at Anfield next season.
Some would argue that being sold after just one season is a bit harsh on Balotelli, as one poor campaign doesn’t define a career, but two or three years certainly do.
And it is getting to that point very soon now for the striker. It’s getting to that crucial point for the 24-year-old where he needs to deliver, because clubs will run out of patience with him and won’t give him many more chances.
The Reds have seemingly run out of patience with the striker, as they clearly see it as a waste of time trying to get anything out of the forward any more.
It is a strange decision after just one season, especially after they pinned their hopes on the Italian last summer.
Nevertheless, there is still time for the striker to show why he was once so highly regarded.
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