Former Liverpool forward El-Hadji Diouf claims that club legend Steven Gerrard was the reason behind Mario Balotelli’s failure at Liverpool FC.
Mario Balotelli joined Liverpool back in 2014 in a £16 million as a replacement for the irreplaceable Luis Suarez.
The Italian, though, had a nightmarish two-year spell under Brendan Rodgers, filled with controversies and spats with teammates. Add that to his very average performance and arrogance on the pitch, Balotelli soon found himself out of the manager's favour.
Also Read: EPL 2016-17: Mario Balotelli says joining Liverpool was the worst mistake of his life
After Jurgen Klopp’s arrival, it was made very clear he will not be a part of the club’s future and was told to seek pastures anew. Balotelli soon found a way out of his Liverpool hell and joined French football club Nice, who signed the Italian on a free transfer on deadline day, to the relief of many Liverpool fans.
Balotelli managed to impress in his first game for the club as he scored twice in a 3-2 win over Marseille.
El-Hadji Diouf was not surprised by the brilliant start Balotelli had for Nice, stating that the Italian always did have the talent in him and if it weren’t for Steven Gerrard’s influence at the club, Mario could have had a tremendous career at Anfield.
Also Read: Ligue 1 2016-17: Mario Balotelli scores twice on Nice debut
“I told him not to go to Liverpool. It wasn't made for him, that things couldn't go well with Gerrard, who has never had his talent and then said negative things about him. Gerrard is a jealous man who doesn't like men of character. Mario is a good person that you should listen to. He's not a guy who's going to cause problems in the dressing room.”
“There are a lot of things that have been made up about him. People tell tales about him, but they're often a load of rubbish,” said Diouf speaking to L'Equipe.
Balotelli had something similar to say in an interview after his Ligue 1 debut for Nice, stating that joining Liverpool ”was the worst mistake of my life”.
It is not surprising to see the player come out in support of Mario Balotelli, as Diouf is known to have had a bitter relationship with club legends Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard.
Diouf had a dreadful spell at the club between 2002 and 2004 scoring just three Premier League goals in three years for the club. This is not the first time the retired Senegalese had something to say about Steven Gerrard, he took a swipe at both Gerrard and Jamie Carragher accusing them of being racist and untalented.
