The Italian striker, now in fine goalscoring form at Nice, has revealed he had virtually no relationship with the Liverpool manager before his departure. Mario Balotelli has revealed that he had no relationship with Jurgen Klopp, who simply told him to leave Liverpool on loan. The Italian was signed by Brendan Rodgers in 2015 from AC Milan but struggled to make an impact with the Reds before returning to the Rossoneri on a temporary deal. He is now playing for Nice - where he has scored six goals in his first five games - after leaving Liverpool on a free transfer late in the summer window.

And Balotelli has revealed that there was never any chance of him making a comeback at Anfield due to his non-existent rapport with Klopp. "Klopp? I don't know him," Balotelli told Sky Sport Italia. "He just told me to leave Liverpool on loan and then to come back. I said: 'Thanks, bye.'"