Date: 13th September 2016 at 7:30pm
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El-Hadji Diouf has spoken out and claims that Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard was the reason that Mario Balotelli failed to make his mark with the Reds, reports French outlet L’Equipe.

Diouf has told L’Equipe that he spoke with Balotelli and warned him not to make a move to Liverpool as his time with the club would be stunted because of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.

Balotelli now currently spends his time with Ligue 1 side Nice after a two-year campaign with the Merseyside club, where he amassed four goals in 28 appearances with the club.

Although there were allegations that the striker has completely lost his form, the 26-year-old managed to bag two goals in his debut with Nice which finished in a 3-2 victory over French rivals Marseille.

Diouf said to L’Equipe: “I told him not to go to Liverpool. It wasn’t made for him, that things couldn’t go well with Gerrard, who has never had his talent and then said negative things about him.

“Gerrard is a jealous man who doesn’t like men of character. Mario is a good person that you should listen to. He’s not a guy who’s going to cause problems in the dressing room.

“There are a lot of things that have been made up about him. People tell tales about him, but they’re often a load of rubbish.”

Diouf also claimed he had discussed problems Balotelli had experienced during his spell at Manchester City with him, adding: “He was young when he arrived in England, you mustn’t forget that.

“When he had problems at City, when he wasn’t playing, we talked. I told him that it [his form] would come back. Of course it was hard for him, because he’s very sensitive. People perhaps don’t understand that.”

The Italian man also had his own things to say about Liverpool, claiming that the £16 million move to Anfield was, “the worst mistake of my life.”

Reds fans…. What do you make of Diouf’s words? Let us know below!

 

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