{"id":41897,"date":"2014-08-26T08:25:40","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T08:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=41897"},"modified":"2014-08-26T08:25:40","modified_gmt":"2014-08-26T08:25:40","slug":"liverpool-complete-16m-balotelli-transfer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=41897","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool complete \u00a316m Balotelli transfer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Italy striker Mario Balotelli has completed his \u00a316m move to Liverpool from Serie A side AC Milan.<\/p>\n

The former Manchester City player, 24, agreed a long-term deal with the Merseyside outfit but will not feature against his old club on Monday night.<\/p>\n

Balotelli left City 17 months ago after scoring 30 goals in three seasons.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Raring<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Raring to go: Balotelli poses in the boot room at Melwood, and will be in attendance for Liverpool\u2019s clash with Manchester City on Monday<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis transfer represents outstanding value for the club and I think we have done a really smart piece of business here,\u201d said Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.<\/p>\n

Balotelli, who will wear the number 45 shirt, added: \u201cI\u2019m happy to be here. Liverpool are one of the best teams here in England and the football is very good here.<\/p>\n

\"'A<\/p>\n

\n

\u2018A great team with young players\u2019: Balotelli, who left Manchester City in 2013, said Liverpool are one of the best teams in England<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great team with young players and that\u2019s why I came here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Balotelli<\/div>\n

Rodgers added: \u201cThere is no doubting Mario\u2019s ability.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a world-class talent and someone who, for such a young age, has vast experience of playing at the very highest level.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has scored goals in the Barclays Premier League, in Italy, in the Champions League and for his country at international level.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Signing<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Signing up: Balotelli returns to England after an 18-month absence having scored 30 goals with AC Milan<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI believe we have the infrastructure, culture and environment to get the best out of him and help him achieve his true potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a strong group here, committed to hard work and he will benefit from being around it.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Ready<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ready for business: The 24-year-old arrived at Melwood on Monday afternoon to put the finishing touches to the transfer<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI am looking forward to working with him and helping him learn more, improve and progress as a player. I\u2019m sure the supporters will make him feel very welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liverpool are understood to have sought assurances from the Italian, who has scored 13 goals in 33 appearances for his country, about his commitment and off-field behaviour.<\/p>\n

Balotelli is a\u00a0controversial figure both on and off the pitch,\u00a0but Rodgers insisted before the deal was done that any player he signs will not be a disruptive influence.<\/p>\n

There had been suggestions former Chelsea forward Samuel Eto\u2019o was on standby to sign for Liverpool had the Balotelli deal broken down.<\/p>\n

The Italian becomes Liverpool\u2019s ninth signing of the summer transfer window and takes their spending to more than \u00a3100m.<\/p>\n

The Reds recouped \u00a375m from the\u00a0sale of last season\u2019s top-scorer Luis Suarez\u00a0to Barcelona.<\/p>\n

\n
\"History<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

History makers: Italian striker Balotelli poses with the European Cup, which Liverpool have won five times, most recently in 2005<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balotelli was a big hit with City supporters, helping the club win\u00a0a first league title\u00a0since 1968.<\/p>\n

But he was also in the headlines for several off-the-pitch incidents, including a\u00a0training-ground row\u00a0with then-manager Roberto Mancini.<\/p>\n

In his second season in Manchester, he scored only three goals in 20 games.<\/p>\n

The striker agreed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Milan in January 2013 and played for Italy at the World Cup in Brazil.<\/p>\n

Former Liverpool defender Gary Gillespie believes the signing of Balotelli is a big risk for his former side.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis reputation does go before him,\u201d he told BBC Radio 5 live.<\/p>\n

\"Balotelli<\/p>\n

Before his move was announced, Balotelli was photographed in Liverpool kit at the club\u2019s training ground.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBrendan Rodgers, out of all the young managers, would probably be the one to handle him better than most, but I still think it\u2019s a big gamble.\u201d<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Source: BBC Sport- Pictures courtesy: Dailymail<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Italy striker Mario Balotelli has completed his \u00a316m move to Liverpool from Serie A side AC Milan. The former Manchester City player, 24, agreed a long-term deal with the Merseyside outfit but will not feature against his old club on Monday night. Balotelli left City 17 months ago after scoring 30 goals in three seasons. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":41899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[29,3],"class_list":["post-41897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dr-mahamudu-bawumia","tag-ghana-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}