Brendan Rodgers has admitted that his relationship with Mario Balotelli was a disaster.
The controversial Italian joined Liverpool in August 2014 and was expected to be a replacement for Luis Suarez but turned into a £16m flop.
One Premier League goal in 16 appearances tells half of the story as the spirit that Rodgers had built up the previous season drained away with the club’s title chances.
With Suarez gone Balotelli never got close to replacing the Uruguayan striker with a downward spiral kicking in for player, club and manager.
Yesterday in an interview with Gazetta dello Sport Balotelli described his relationship with Rodgers as a disaster- with the Celtic boss in full agreement.
Speaking to TalkSPORT this morning Rodgers admitted: “It was a funny one, I just didn’t really connect with Mario. Everyone could see his talent, he came in very late in the window for us, it was rushed through when we thought that others were going to go.
“It was a gamble taken from a club perspective, I certainly didn’t think, by any means that I could take him in and do what other managers couldn’t.
“He is a talent, we thought we’d take him in, he’ll develop and learn because he has all the tools. In all fairness, I just found it very very difficult to connect at all with Mario. On the field he tried his best but it was something that just didn’t work out as well as everyone would have liked.”
Last season Balotelli was sent on loan to AC Milan but managed just one goal in 20 appearances before coming to an agreement with Liverpool to cancel his contract.
The 26-year-old Italian signed for Nice in the summer and has scored six goals in six matches in the French League.