Liverpool Transfer Rumors: Mario Balotelli Is Leaving Milan For English Premier League Club

Italian striker and global superstar Mario Balotelli is headed back to the English Premier League where he will lace up his cleats for Liverpool this season. Media outlets in Milan have reported that Balotelli has said goodbye to his A.C. Milan teammates and would be headed to Liverpool for a physical early Friday morning.

The reports were confirmed by A.C. Milan on their website who announced that Balotelli was no longer with the club, but mysteriously did not say which team he was headed to. Liverpool offered over $29 million dollars for the outspoken Italian and now have their replacement for Luis Suarez. Suarez was the leading scorer for the English Premier League last season, but after Liverpool transferred the “Cannibal” this summer, they needed to find an offensive replacement for the striker’s goal scoring ability.

The Reds now appear to have the offensive force they needed and still plenty of cash in their pocket as they received over $130 million from Barcelona for Suarez, spending a little over one-fifth of that on Balotelli. Balotelli will make his return to England since leaving the EPL in 2013. Balotelli played for Manchester City from 2010 thru 2013 but scored only 20 goals over that span. The manager of Manchester City Roberto Mancini, who is also Italian, publicly criticized Balotelli’s maturity repeatedly during his stars tenure with the team.

Balotelli is notorious for his temper and lack of focus on the pitch. He was suspended several times for violent conduct detrimental to the team while with Manchester City and recently in Italy’s final group play game at the World Cup, he was taken out of the game at halftime because of his behavior and because Italian National Team Coach Cesare Prandelli believed he would eventually get a red card and be ejected from the game, leaving the Azzurri a man down in the must-win match. The Italians lost the match anyways, and Prandelli resigned during the post-game press conference.

Balotelli will look to reignite his play with Liverpool and hopefully bring the Reds a Premier League championship like he did for Manchester City in 2012 when he assisted on the game winning goal. Balotelli will also return to the Champions League as Milan missed out on the competition last season.