Is Mario Balotelli Available for €10 Million?

Sampdoria's President Massimo Ferrero claims that the 24-year-old is available for a bargain price.

Poor Mario Balotelli. The move to Liverpool hasn't worked out for the Italian international striker, and Brendan Rodgers seems determined to start the impending season without the 24-year-old. Recently, the player was cropped out of a photo on Liverpool's official twitter account when they wanted an image of "world class" players to pair with an Adam Lallana interview, though it should be pointed out that Lallana did not include Balotelli when speaking about the talented players training at Melwood who have not yet linked up with the rest of the squad.

Still, it's just part of the narrative that things haven't been going according to plan for "Super Mario" at Anfield. For those interested in how much Balotelli might fetch in thetransfer window, it appears that Liverpool won't recoup even half the amount paid - - £16 million folks -- for the former Manchester City striker. That isn't a particularly huge sum considering some of the deals made in recent years. The source may be in the know or paying games, you decide.

"Mario Balotelli costs €10m, but with a discount we await him with open arms," Sampdoria President Massimo Ferrero gleefully remarked on a player who seems destined to leave Anfield.

Well. If that is the case, perhaps taking on the player's wages in their entirety would be a condition of securing Balotelli for such a low fee. It could be a case of agreeing a lower contract without any contribution from Liverpool, something that FSG would be keen to avoid. This could just be a tactic from Sampdoria to pursue a loan or a deal where they don't have to pay anything at all. Plus, does Massimo Ferrero want a discount on the discount? That would be awfully cheeky but expected considering the offers Liverpool have received from Italian clubs in recent years.

The arrival of Christian Benteke pushes Balotelli further out of the picture, and irrespective of whether he wants to stay or not, he probably has to find a new home by the end of the transfer window. Mario Balotelli may be considered a greater risk after the season he's had, but a decent club has to make an offer at that price. Even with the salary he'd command, the fee makes a potential deal far more likely than previously believed. Maybe he won't be leaving on loan after all.

Liverpool fans angry at Mario Balotelli after Raheem Sterling tweet

Mario Balotelli's tweet congratulating Raheem Sterling did not go down well with some Liverpool fans

Mario Balotelli has angered Liverpool fans after he congratulated former team-mate Raheem Sterling for scoring on his Manchester City debut.

Sterling finally completed an acrimonious £49m move to City last week and took less than three minutes to find the target for his new club in their 5-4 penalty shoot-out win over Roma in the International Champions Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Balotelli took to social media and tweeted: "Well done @sterling 31 ! Best Answer, keep it up."

However, the former City striker soon regretted his post as other Twitter users urged the Italy international to follow Sterling's lead.

@KopWorldEdito responded: "Hurry up and follow him out of the Anfield exit please."

"@FinallyMario the club may have treated you poorly but the fans have had your back 100% from day one, disappointed to say the least," added @LiverpooLegacy.

Balotelli responded with two further Tweets: "Liverpool fans are amazing but i hope@sterling31 will play at his best because he deserve it. He's a good guy young and talented.....

"Support him Like you always did .He gave everything to this club and respect it so im sad to see this.YNWA ,Liverpool is a family ALWAYS."

Sterling celebrates scoring after just 137 seconds

However, Balotelli’s best efforts failed to calm down some Liverpool fans still angry over the manner of the 20-year-old’s departure.

"Back doing what I love doing," Sterling later tweeted with a picture of himself, which was also met by some abusive replies.

£7m – Liverpool name their price for Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli will be able to leave Liverpool for just £7million this summer, according to Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero.

Despite joining the Reds for £16million from AC Milan last summer, his disastrous first season on Merseyside means the club are willing to let him move on for more than half of that price.

Sampdoria have been the club linked the most with acquiring Balotelli’s signature ahead of the new season, and Ferrero revealed the Italian’s price tag on Monday.

“Mario Balotelli costs €10m, but with a discount we await him with open arms,” he said.

This comes six days after Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claimed Balotelli’s future lay in his own hands, although not being part of the pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia surely shows his days at Anfield are numbered.

“Mario is obviously not on tour but working hard and training well with a number of other players at Melwood,” said Rodgers.

“I’m not sure (what his future holds), that will entirely be up to Mario.

“He is working hard to get fit and we will see when the season begins.”

Balotelli endured a nightmare 2014/15 campaign with the Reds, scoring just one Premier League goal in 16 appearances, and just four in all competitions.

The arrival of Christian Benteke and Danny Ings, coupled with the return of Divock Origi from his loan spell at Lille, surely signals the end of Balotelli’s forgettable Liverpool career.

Liverpool must drop Mario Balotelli price for us to bid - Sampdoria chief

Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero has not ruled out moving for Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli this summer, although a big discount would be needed before he would seriously consider a bid.

Balotelli, 24, could be available for a cut-price fee this summer after a disappointing first season at Anfield but Ferrero wants the Italy international for just a fraction of the £16 million the Reds paid AC Milan for him last summer.

Speaking in Milan on Monday as the fixtures for the 2015-16 season were drawn, Ferrero said he is waiting for the player's value to drop further before making a move.

"I hear he was in Genoa yesterday, but he costs €10m," Ferrero said, quotes Mediaset television. "With a discount, I would take him with open arms. People have got to get used to how things are in this country -- you can get by with little, you only die when you have nothing."

Balotelli politely rejected a bid from Italian third-division club Lupa Castelli, owned by his former Milan teammate Marco Amelia, who wanted him to forget about his wages for a year to revive his career. Samp might also expect Balotelli to take a drop in wages if he were to join them, although at least they would be able to offer him Serie A and Europa League football. 

Mario Balotelli scored just one Premier League goal last term in what has been a difficult return to England.

Balotelli has so far been unable to hold down a permanent place in the Liverpool first team after suffering with both poor form and fitness. With Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings all arriving as fresh attacking options at Anfield this summer, a move back to Serie A could help Balotelli force his way into the reckoning for a place in Italy coach Antonio Conte's squad for Euro 2016.

Meanwhile, Ferrero says only he will decide whether Antonio Cassano will return to the club for a second spell and that coach Walter Zenga could not veto a move.

"I decide here," he said. "Nobody can dare oppose me. Never rule anything out. If Cassano doesn't come, then we'll sign somebody even better."

Liverpool are already pretending Mario Balotelli doesn't exist

The pictures Liverpool are putting up online suggest they have just decided to erase the existence of their Italian flop

Liverpool's new striker - and a striker they're pretending isn't really there

You don't have to be a football genius to understand why Liverpool are desperate to get rid of Mario Balotelli this summer.

To put it bluntly, the Italian striker's (very short) career at the club has been nothing short of disastrous. So catastrophic, in fact, Liverpool appear unable to find another team willing to take Balotelli off their hands.

Even so, their new strategy appears to be a bit harsh. According to their latest Twitter activity, they are simply pretending he's no longer there.

Take a look at this picture from Liverpool training, featuring Balotelli alongside hisreplacement new team mate Christian Benteke:

Nothing massively remarkable about the image.

Not until you see the version of the image Liverpool tweeted - in reference to their "world class talent"…

‘You are a man without honour’ Fiorentina fans furiously react to Mario Balotelli transfer links

Fiorentina fans reacted angrily to reports that their club were interested in signing Liverpool misfit Mario Balotelli on Monday.
The Reds striker has struggled since moving to Brendan Rodgers’s side from AC Milan last August for around £16million, and the Italian is now surplus to requirements at Anfield.
Reports on Monday claimed that La Viola were interested in a swap deal with the Reds involving Mario Gomez, but supporters of the Serie A side were left non-plussed with the stories.
In fact, such was their outrage that a number of fans decided to vent their fury down at the club’s training ground where they unveiled a banner that clearly stated their opposition to the proposed transfer

.
Balotelli banner

‘You are a man without honour. Balotelli, Florence does not want you’ read the banner.
A difficult debut campaign, that saw Balotelli score just one Premier League goal with the Reds, was compounded by the recent death of his adoptive father Francesco, and the striker was left off the club’s pre-season tour of Thailand, Malaysia and Australia on compassionate grounds.
Balotelli is part of a trio of centre-forwards who are no longer wanted at Anfield and the club are also willing to listen to offers for Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert following the arrivals of Danny Ings, Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino this summer.

Liverpool working on Mario Balotelli - Mario Gomez swap deal

You know what’s the best thing about Mario Balotelli? Despite all his eccentrics, poor performances on pitch, there is always going to be some club out here ready to take gamble on him. This time it’s Fiorentina, who are ready to bring the Liverpool flop back to Italy.

According to Italian media, SportMediaSet, Serie A club Fiorentina are ready to sign Mario Balotelli while Mario Gomez could move to Liverpool as a part of the same deal. Both the players will go out on a season long loan and from thereon decisions will be taken whether to make the deal permanent. 

Italian newspaper Tuttosport adds their own input, saying the two clubs are locked in negotiations over this deal, as Balotelli is desperate to return to Italy after his failed Liverpool spell.

Ballet joined Liverpool from AC Milan or a reported fee of ₤16m, but he failed to adjust to Brendan Rodgers’s system at the club. He was ultimately dropped to the bench and was largely overlooked, and from there on became very clear that he won’t have a long term future at Anfield. 

Furthermore, Balotelli has not included in Liverpool’s pre-season training which gives a strong indication that the club is actively trying to selal him, albeit on loan.