Steven Gerrard reveals his reaction to learning Mario Balotelli would join Liverpool

Steven Gerrard has revealed his reaction to being told by Brendan Rodgers that Liverpool would be taking a gamble by signing Mario Balotelli.

In the 2013/14 season, Liverpool came oh so close to winning the Premier League, ultimately missing out to Manchester City by a matter of two points.

While Brendan Rodgers had several players performing better than they were expected to, the main catalyst for the incredible goalscoring form that that Reds found themselves in was due to the form of Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan scored 31 goals in the Premier League before moving to Barcelona in the summer of 2014, leaving Rodgers and Liverpool in the lurch. Then, after being rejected by Alexis Sanchez, the Northern Irishman turned to Mario Balotelli to bear the brunt of the responsibility up front.

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“In my last season, Brendan Rodgers came to me at Melwood one day in mid-August,” Gerrard said.

“We had a chat on the training pitch. He said, ‘You know we’ve missed out on a couple of signings. I’m basically left with no option but to have a bit of a gamble.’

“Brendan paused before he spoke again: ‘The gamble is Mario Balotelli.’ My instant reaction was, ‘Uh-oh.’

“I’d never met Balotelli but I’d heard all the stories about the indoor fireworks and Jose Mourinho describing him as an ‘unmanageable’ player.

“I could see that, in the right mood, he was a quality footballer but the rest of his career seemed like a spectacular waste of talent. That was my opinion of Balotelli.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com