Mario Balotelli backs Rangers boss Steven Gerrard as Liverpool flop forgives cutting verdict

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Mario Balotelli's time at Liverpool might not have been as successful as he hoped when he made a £16million move to Anfield from AC Milan.

As a replacement for Luis Suarez, he had big shoes to fill and didn't really do it as he scored just one Premier League goal in 16 games before returning to Milan on loan and then joining Nice on a free transfer.Steven Gerrard was critical of him in his autobiography and reckoned it was too much of a gamble to take him to Liverpool, bellieving he didn't have the mentality to play at the top level.

He said: “There was no friction between us. We got on fine. I still tried to help him and I kept looking for chances to praise him. “But I could see Mourinho had been right when he said Mario Balotelli is