Mario Balotelli Told to Earn £60m Transfer or Die at Liverpool by Agent

Mario Balotelli won't be leaving Liverpool anytime soon if it's up to his agent, who told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that Balotelli will either earn himself a big-money move away from the club or die with the Reds.

As reported by The Guardian, agent Mino Raiola told the Italian newspaper Balotelli is disappointed with how his career at Liverpool has started but that it's far from over:

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“Liverpool are different from other clubs, Raiola told La Gazzetta dello Sport in a wide-ranging interview. “There, [because of Brendan Rodgers’s philosophy] they can’t allow themselves 10 players who run and a superstar [who doesn’t]. Mario is a player who changes a game for you in two or three moments, so they have to adapt to him and him to them.

“I saw him on Monday and said: ‘You’ve got a [long] contract and I’m not taking you away. Either you leave Liverpool for €60m or €70m and I win the bet or you die there’. It’s the first time that I’ve had such a conversation with a player. I saw that he was calm, changed, different with respect to at Milan. Very disappointed in himself too.

“He is going through times he’s never had before. Before everybody wanted him to do well. He had space. At Liverpool, no: either you do as we say or you stay out [of the team]. Then he was out injured for eight weeks. He lost rhythm.”

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Raiola detailed some personal issues that the star striker has gone through since his move to Anfield:

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“Finally there’s the story about his daughter,” Raiola said. “Pia has changed him but Mario has also found a woman [the girl’s mother] who won’t give him peace. If he organises to go see her on this day at this place, like clockwork there’s a doctor’s letter saying the little one has a fever. And Mario suffers a lot from this.

“The real Mario has the ability to be the best in the world but not the character. And this phase at Liverpool is the most important lesson he has had. He has a sensational physique. Ronaldo does too but to keep it he has to drink mineral water. Mario eats spaghetti, cotoletta, he drinks iced tea. Now he is applying himself well. His private life is more settled. And there’s no sense in asking whether Liverpool is the right place: it’s the only place."

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The 24-year-old arrived at Anfield from AC Milan with much fanfare in the summer of 2014 but has so far failed to live up to the lofty expectations, going scoreless in eight Premier League starts, per WhoScored.com.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

He's yet to start a Premier League match for the Reds in 2015, and the impending return of Daniel Sturridge won't make it easier for him to earn a spot in the starting XI, as reported by the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle.

Raheem Sterling has started several matches as the designated striker, with Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini all getting looks at the position ahead of Super Mario.

According to Raiola, Balotelli's problem is that he's not as "hard" as another client of his, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as shared by Sport Witness:

Many feel the Balotelli experiment could soon come to an end for Liverpool, and Bleacher Report's Matt Ladson believes there's a good chance the Italy international could leave the club as early as this month should the right offer come along:

The striker has had few chances to play alongside Sturridge so far, however, and with the England international now set to return to the pitch for the Reds, it is possible the two develop a positive connection, which will be to the benefit of Super Mario.

Balotelli has done little to warrant an extended stay with Liverpool, but a January transfer seems unlikely given the fact he's only been with the club for a couple of months, and few potential suitors would currently offer manager Brendan Rodgers the kind of fee the Reds are likely looking for.

Whether Balotelli will ever be worth the kind of money Raiola is suggesting is debatable, and while it seems highly unlikely at this point in time, the agent's comments do seem to indicate the Italian won't be leaving the Reds during this transfer window.

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