Super Mario is returning to the Premier League as Liverpool have signed AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli for £16m.
Balotelli announced the move this morning in Milan telling reporters before training:
“This will be my last day at Milanello.”
The £16m transfer fee means that Milan will take a £3m loss on a player who scored 30 goals in 54 games for the Serie A club since joining in January 2013.
Liverpool have been linked with strikers all summer, with either PSG’s Edinson Cavani or Monaco’s Radamel Falcao expected to join the Reds. But the club went in another direction to fill a need they had: the most and Brendan Rodgers alluded to the fact they needed to sign someone after Sunday’s win over Southampton.
“I do still think we need another striker,” Rodgers said after Sunday’s win over Southampton.
“It is something that we will look at, but it will depend on the availability of one.
“We will search through to the end of the transfer window.”
It’s a bold move by Rodgers as no managers, even those with a lot more experience than him, have ben unable to contort the mercurial striker. But if Rodgers can channel Balotelli’s energies in the right direction he has signed a world class talent for £16m. That is a steal.
Balotelli’s on the field achievements are often overlooked by his off the field antics, So it is easy to forget that he has already won four titles in two countries, a Champions League and the FA Cup and Coppa Italia by the age of 24.
What do you think of the signing Liverpool fans?