Former Liverpool Striker Mario Balotelli has opened up on his past, saying that there was a time when he was close to joining Barcelona. Without going into further details, Balotelli said that his transfer to the Camp Nou was prevented only because the club that possessed him wanted a lot more money. It is suggested that player was at Inter Milan when Barcelona came calling for his services.
Balotelli was widely regarded as one of the greatest talents a decade ago. Even though he has failed to realise his potential and has gone through several ill-fated moves at the likes of Manchester City, AC Milan, and Liverpool, he is still regarded as a top striker on his day.
Balotelli is currently with French club Nice, where he has enjoyed a new lease of life. After joining the French outfit on a free transfer in the summer, Balotelli has unexpectedly been scoring plenty of goals. Before suffering a major injury, Balotelli was one of the top scorers in the French Ligue 1. His goals helped Nice to be in the hunt for the title back then. Even now, the club are only five points behind table leaders Monaco while they are only two points behind second placed Paris St.-Germain.
Balotelli’s goals have dried up of late with the player also receiving a couple of red cards in recent games. As a result, the ugly side of the 26-year-old has once again come up. Nice will be hoping that Balotelli gets back to his goal-scoring best, of which the world has seen very little.
Balotelli claims that his time at Manchester City was extremely enjoyable since the club had an Italian atmosphere. Yet, he chose to say little about Liverpool, where he was regarded as a major gamble by former manager Brendan Rodgers. Balotelli said:
“I nearly joined Barcelona, but the club that had me at the time wanted money. Manchester City was a dream because there was such an Italian atmosphere there.”
Balotelli spent two seasons at Liverpool, although playing effectively in one campaign before being sent out on loan to AC Milan. During this period, he represented the club in only 16 league matches and scored one goal. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest flops for Liverpool in the last decade. Yet, Balotelli says that he did not settle at Anfield largely because of the city. He continued:
“Don’t speak to me about Liverpool, please. There was a team with great people, fantastic fans, but the place…”
The Italian striker will be hoping to further impress at the French outfit, as it is the only possible way to extend his stay at Nice. His contract runs out in the summer and talks are yet to begin about a new deal. The striker has scored 10 goals in 16 league appearances for Nice.
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