Mario Balotelli’s Liverpool future might not be dead and buried after all

Mario Balotelli's time at Liverpool will live long in the memory of Reds fans...but for all the wrong reasons.

The firebrand Italian striker was a £16m disaster under former manager Brendan Rodgers. The former Anfield boss brought in the ex-Manchester City forward with some of the money gained from the sale of Luis Suarez. Liverpool fans were glad to see the back of the star when he was loaned out to AC Milan for the season and will probably hope that's the end of his time on Merseyside after he scored just one goal in 16 games. But Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola believes the 25-year-old could still have a future at the club under new boss Jurgen Klopp. Raiola told Sky Sports News he plans to speak to Klopp, saying: "For sure. That is part of my job, to speak to all the managers. I know Klopp from [representing] Henry Mkhitaryan at Dortmund. "If we talk about the quality and the talent Mario has, that is without question. "Then you also need a manager that believes in you and gives you the chance to prove yourself. We will talk to him when it is time to talk to him." Balotelli has been hampered by injury and has only managed one goal in four starts at the Serie A club. Raiola admitted that Balotelli has to do the business on the pitch at Milan before he can think about his future. "I think it is too soon. Obviously if Mario does what he has to do, there is maybe another view on him also. "He had to go away because with Brendan [Rodgers] there was no possibility to develop any more. There was a preconception towards Mario and I think from his private part of life he has proven them wrong. "But we have to be realistic. He didn't perform well in 2015 and 2016 needs to be his year. That is his challenge."