Former AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli has signed with Liverpool. He just received a contract worth 16 million pounds ($26.5 million) last Monday.
Balotelli will come in to the English Premier League as a replacement to Luis Suarez. Suarez was sold to Barcelona for for $130 million. According to Balotelli "I'm happy to be back because I left England and it was a mistake. I wanted to go to Italy but I realized it was a mistake." With on striker lost, Liverpool needed to strengthen their strikeforce in order tobuild a stronger team.
According to sources, Balotelli is in a long term deal with Liverpool and he spent his first day with his new team watching the Reds lose 3-1 to City in a Premier League game at Etihad Stadium later Monday.
Balotelli is one of the few great strikers in the league. At Milan, he scored 26 goals in 43 league matches and he is the Italian national team's top striker, scoring 13 goals in 33 games.
But Balotelli has been plagued with issues and controversy as well just like the striker he replaced. Jose Mourinho described Balotelli as "unmanageable" during their time together at Inter Milan, which the striker left in 2010 to join City.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said "He knows himself this is probably is last chance. Mario is someone we can improve both as a footballer and as a person. He has a reputation but we hope he can curb that behavior. He knows his flaws and faults and he is looking for someone to help him. There is no better club for him. Of course it is a risk."
British media reported that Balotelli had to agree to a behavior clause as part of his contract. Rodgers commented "I believe we have the infrastructure, culture and environment to get the best out of him and help him achieve his true potential. We are a strong group here, committed to hard work and he will benefit from being around it. I am looking forward to working with him and helping him learn more, improve and progress as a player."
