'I quit Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp told me to go – I blame one person for my struggles'
Mario Balotelli was a £16m flop at Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers, with the ex-Reds striker blaming the current Celtic boss for his dismal spell at Anfield despite going after Jurgen Klopp came in
Mario Balotelli pointed the finger at Brendan Rodgers for his failure at Liverpool – insisting that the former Reds manager's tactics didn't play to his strengths.
The Italian striker, who made a surprise £16million switch from AC Milan in 2014, was brought in as a potential replacement for Luis Suarez but failed to deliver.
Rodgers, now at Celtic, took a gamble on Balotelli that didn't pay off, with the forward netting a dire four goals in 28 appearances, and only one in the Premier League.
After just one season, Balotelli found himself out of favour, leading to a loan move back to Milan. It was during this time that he criticised Rodgers' approach, admitting some personal fault but also highlighting the mismatch in playing style.
READ MORE: David Beckham admits 'it does hurt a little bit' when asked about public's view of himREAD MORE: 'I'm an ex-Liverpool star – there's one thing Arne Slot must do to make Reds title contenders'Reflecting on his time at Anfield, Balotelli said (via the Liverpool Echo): "I must accept my faults, but the formation chosen by [manager Brendan] Rodgers was not suited to my characteristics. At the beginning I missed several easy chances, then I had fewer chances to score, a bit of bad luck, injuries."
When he returned to Merseyside in the summer of 2016, Jurgen Klopp was had replaced Rodgers almost a full year before, and the relationship between manager and player was short and sharp. Balotelli claims he and Klopp had just one conversation before he was on the move again, this time to French side Nice where he enjoyed some of the best form of his whole career.
Balotelli told Sky Italia in 2016: “Klopp doesn't know me. I spoke to him once, he told me to go somewhere else, work hard and then return. So I said goodbye to them, and that we wouldn't be seeing each other again.”
The Italian defended his professionalism while at Liverpool in a Gazzetta interview, saying: "I never complained, I accepted the decisions of the manager and I always behaved like a professional.
"The professional Mario didn't just land here in Milanello, even at Liverpool my behaviour and lifestyle were normal. Over the last year there was never a problem with my private life. I may have put pictures from restaurants on Instagram, but that does not mean I did not train even though I was not playing.
"I have trained a lot, two sessions at times by myself over the last month with [Fabio] Borini and Jose Enrique: it was tough, but if I didn't do it I would have been dead tired after training yesterday."
After being released by Adana Demirspor earlier this year, Balotelli - who is currently a free agent - looked back on his stint under Rodgers, whom he sharply criticised as "the worst coach I have ever had". Balotelli said: "He was number one as far as training sessions were concerned, what with keeping possession of the ball and the small-sided games. But as a person he was a disaster."
Reflecting on the rocky relationship with his former player, Rodgers admitted on talkSPORT that they weren't a good match, saying: "I just couldn't really connect with Mario.
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"He was one that came in very late in the window. It was a gamble taken from a club perspective. It was one where, he's a big talent, he'll come in and develop, he's got all the tools.
"In all fairness, I just found it very difficult to connect with Mario. On the field, he tried his best. But it certainly wasn't something that worked out as everyone would like. If he could ever match that intensity with his talent, then he'd be one of the best players in the world."
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