Mino Raiola has said that Mario Balotelli has been left “insecure” at Liverpool, but his agent will not leave the club anytime soon.
The Italian striker has endured a torrid time at Anfield, since his £16m move last summer and has only scored twice for the Reds.
“Balotelli is very disappointed with himself, he’s going through a bad time like he’s never had before,” Raiola said.
“But the plan is for him to continue at Anfield. I saw him on Monday and told him: ‘You have a four-year contract and I will not send you away. You only leave Liverpool (valued) at 60-70 million (euros – £45m), and I win my bet, or you will die there’.
“It’s the first time I have made a speech like that to a player – I’ve seen him quiet, changed, different from when he was at Milan.
“People don’t know him but the truth is that Mario is an insecure boy, and it’s down to his insecurity that maybe he does stupid things.
“In Liverpool he hasn’t had the space he needs: if you can’t make things go the way you want, you stay out of the team. He is not a leader, and it is also wrong to ask him to be one. There are very strong players who have no leadership skills, others less strong that do.”
Balotelli was doubly at fault for Chelsea’s winner, after he came on as a substitute in their Capital One Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge.
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