Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli will not be returning to Italy in the January transfer window, according to the players agent.
The 24-year-old has failed to score for the Reds since his summer move from AC Milan, and some reports have suggested he is likely to return to his first club Inter Milan in January.
Inter have recently re-appointed Roberto Mancini, who has managed Balotelli at both Inter and Manchester City.
But the forward’s agent claims he will be staying with the Reds.
“Mario will not return to Serie A,” said Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola.
“Him (Balotelli) to Inter? It’s impossible, not because Mancini has returned but for other reasons that I don’t wish to get into.”
Balotelli, who is under contract with Liverpool until June 2017, has not played for Italy since the World Cup in Brazil.
He was called up by Italy head coach Antonio Conte earlier this month but missed the European Qualifier against Croatia and a friendly against Albania with a hamstring and groin problem, which also saw him ruled out of Liverpool’s latest defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace on Sunday.
He has not returned to training today ahead of the Reds crucial Champions League clash with Ludogorets tomorrow.
“There’s absolutely no problem with the national team,” Raiola added. “The relationship with Conte is fantastic.
“The head coach is not there to change Mario. If he (Balotelli) behaves well then he can be an added value to the national team.
“But there is so much talk about him in order to create scandals where they don’t exist. It’s not true that Mario faked an injury in Italy’s last training camp.”
