‘I beat up ex-Liverpool star who didn’t like Jurgen Klopp in training – he deserved it’

Mario Balotelli spent one full season at Liverpool, scoring one league goal, but the striker was not impressed by Jurgen Klopp in their short time working together

Mario Balotelli endured one of the worst spells of his career at Liverpool. He spent a single season with the Reds under Brendan Rodgers before being loaned out and was unimpressed by Jurgen Klopp upon his return to Anfield.

It was not the first time that Balotelli had encountered issues at a club. Earlier in his career, the striker had gotten on the wrong side of Inter Milan team-mate Marco Materazzi during their treble-winning season, with the defender later revealing that he made sure to rough him up in training.

Liverpool signed Balotelli as Luis Suarez’s replacement in 2014. He failed to emulate his predecessor, scoring just one league goal before joining AC Milan on loan. At the end of his loan spell, Balotelli was greeted by new manager Klopp. However, Balotelli was unmoved by the former Borussia Dortmund boss and later expressed his regret at signing for Liverpool.

“I joined Liverpool. It was the worst mistake of my life,” Balotelli told Canal Plus after scoring twice on his Nice debut. “Apart from the fans, who were fantastic with me, I must be honest, and the players, who I had a good rapport with, I didn’t like the club.

“I had two coaches, Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp. As people they didn’t make a good impression on me. I didn’t get along with them.”

Delving deeper into his lack of relationship with Klopp, Balotelli later said he had only spoken with the Liverpool boss briefly before leaving for France. “Klopp doesn’t know me, I spoke to him once, he told me to go somewhere else, work hard and then return,” Balotelli told Sky Italia. “So I said goodbye to them, and that we wouldn’t be seeing each other again.”

Balotelli forged his reputation as a complex character during his early days at Inter Milan. He may have been a teenager, but Balotelli still managed to rile experienced defender Materazzi during Inter’s dream season.

Under Jose Mourinho, Balotelli scored 11 goals in all competitions as Inter won the 2010 Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia. However, the forward had thrown his shirt to the ground after the team’s first leg win over Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals. Intent on letting Balotelli see the error of his ways, Materazzi ensured he was lined up against him in training.

“I gave him a good beating, it’s true”, Materazzi said on Instagram, as per the Daily Mail. “I love Mario, but he really deserved it that day.

“We’ve become friends again now, practically brothers, but he did something that day that he really should not have done. Throwing his shirt to the ground after the final whistle wasn’t even the worst of it.

“Before the game, on the team bus, he told us, ‘Today I’m going to play badly,’ so I promised to make him pay if he did. When he came off the bench, he tried a shot from midfield rather than going on the counter. Diego Milito wanted to kill him.

“We believed in Mario, he scored many goals and contributed to the victory, but a week after that, I asked Mourinho to put me against Balotelli in the training ground games between ranks. After a few seconds, I’d sent him back to the dressing room.”

Balotelli signed for Manchester City later that summer, reuniting with former Inter boss Roberto Mancini. He was part of the Manchester City team that clinched the Premier League title in unforgettable fashion on the final day of the 2011/12 season.

Earlier in that campaign, he had revealed his famous ‘Why always me?’ T-shirt after opening the scoring in City’s 6-1 win over Manchester United, referencing his ability to create headlines on and off the pitch.

Since leaving Liverpool in 2016, Balotelli has had spells in France, Italy, Turkey and Switzerland. The 34-year-old spent this season at Genoa, but injury limited him to just six league appearances.

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