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Topics: Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers, Premier League, Celtic, Mario Balotelli
Josh Lawless
Topics: Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers, Premier League, Celtic, Mario Balotelli
Brendan Rodgers has been slammed by former Liverpool and Manchester City star Mario Balotelli, who labelled him a "disaster".
Rodgers signed Balotelli for a fee of £16 million in August 2014 following on from Luis Suarez's departure to Barcelona.
It was a second crack at the Premier League for Balotelli, who had won the FA Cup and title with Manchester City.
However, the former Inter and AC Milan striker did not get going at Anfield and scored just four goals in 28 appearances in all competitions before heading back on loan to the Rossoneri.
It took him 13 games to open his account in the Premier League for Liverpool and Balotelli was criticised by Rodgers after he swapped shirts with Pepe in a home defeat to Real Madrid.
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A seething Rodgers said: "It's something that doesn't happen here and shouldn't happen here."
Remarkably, it's claimed that there was a £1 million bonus fee in Balotelli's Liverpool contract but the player had to behave well in order to receive that sum.
He had to avoid being sent off three times for violent conduct.
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Rodgers ended up getting the boot midway through the 2015/16 season but Balotelli was not part of Jurgen Klopp's plans and subsequently joined Nice in Ligue One.
And nearly a decade on from his short stint playing Rodgers, Balotelli has ripped into the current Celtic boss.
Speaking on TVPlay, as per Daily Record, the 33-year-old said: "Brendan Rodgers is the worst coach I have ever had.
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"He was number one as far as training sessions were concerned, what with keeping possession of the ball and the small-sided games. But as a person he was a disaster."
Balotelli now finds himself back in Turkey for a second spell with Adana Demirspor, scoring three goals in five games in the Turkish Super Lig.