Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli snubs stunning move back to Italy

Balotelli endured a nightmare year with the Reds last term after his £16 million move from AC Milan (fee via BBC Sport), scoring just once in 16 Premier League games and failing to feature in any of Liverpool’s final four games of the season.

Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has been offered a fresh start back in Italy, but the team in question is in the third tier.

A third stint in Serie A with Sampdoria became a realistic possibility in May after president Massimo Ferrero expressed a desire to pair Balotelli with Samuel Eto’o, but that idea was swiftly rejected by both manager Walter Zenga and Eto’o’s subsequent decision to leave Stadio Luigi Ferraris in favour of a move to ambitious Turkish Super Lig newcomers Antalyaspor.

With Balotelli’s previously prolific reputation in tatters, Lupa Castelli want to offer the fiery Italian a chance to “start again” and rebuild his career.

Honorary president of the Lega Pro club, Marco Amelia, explained that it would be a hard task to convince the controversial Italian to join but that a clean slate is what’s best for Balotelli.

‘For Balotelli, this could be the first step towards cleaning up his act, taking two steps back and showing everyone what he is capable of doing. Despite that, he obviously retains a belief that it can happen.

“In the coming days I will try to call [Mario] Balotelli to get him to come here. It will be tough, it will be nearly impossible as it is something that football has never seen, but he could do it”.

The 24-year-old is now training at Melwood while the rest of his teammates continue their pre-season tour, and boss Brandan Rodgers stopped short of guaranteeing his spot in the squad earlier this week. With less than two weeks to go until the new season, the Italian is facing up to the prospect of being stuck at Liverpool until at least January.

Liverpool had been working hard to secure his signature, and reports in Italy suggested that they had made an enquiry into the player’s availability, and even entered tentative negotiations with Reus.