Jurgen Klopp was a 'piece of (expletive)' to Mario Balotelli at Liverpool, agent says
Mario Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola threw some heavy shade at Liverpool, and manager Jurgen Klopp in particular, in regard to how he believes his client was treated at the Premier League club. Raiola laced into Klopp and the Merseyside club via Gazzetta della Sport, questioning the German manager's leadership capabilities.
“I'm not trying to judge him as a coach — although, for me, he's not a good coach — but he didn't understand that Balotelli is, whatever else, a person," Raiola said, as translated by Goal.com.
Balotelli, who moved to Nice on a free transfer this summer, was kept away from the senior squad under Klopp. The Italian was forced to train with the reserves before securing the move to Ligue 1. That kind of treatment really got under the skin of Raiola, who represents numerous high-profile clients, such as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
"Mario has been exemplary. He never complained about training alone," Raiola said. "To say that it was wrong of Klopp would be an understatement; he was a piece of (expletive) about it.”
While it's understandable that Raiola would jump to Balotelli's defense (that is what he's paid for, after all), Balotelli's banishment at Liverpool wasn't completely without warrant. Sure, Klopp never really gave Balotelli a chance, but the Italian scored just four goals in 28 appearances with the Reds under then-manager Brendan Rodgers. That track record probably contributed to Klopp cutting bait on Balotelli.
On the other hand, Balotelli is still undeniably gifted and relatively young at 26 years old. Should Klopp have given Balotelli more of a look in? Possibly. But we also never know what happens behind closed doors. As with most stories, the truth and reason probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Either way, hopefully happier times are ahead for both Balotelli at Nice and Klopp in Liverpool.
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