„Liverpool“ legend Ray Houghton says that this summer's club purchase Mario Balotelli is not destined to fit in at the new workplace because he is not a team player.
The Italian national team footballer, who arrived from „Milan“ for 20 million euros, has so far had a poor start to the season. In 14 matches, he has only managed to score 2 goals and due to his bad form, the striker is constantly criticized.
Houghton, who won two league titles representing „Liverpool“, does not believe that Balotelli will be able to get rid of his selfishness, which has hindered him in his previous stints with the teams of „Inter“, „Milan“, and „Manchester City“.
„He is not a team player, so he did not manage to adapt,“ Goal quoted Houghton. “He should participate more in positional play, but he doesn't. This is not a big surprise, as the same thing happened when representing other teams as well.“
„Balotelli needs to change his game to fit in with Sturridge and Sterling, but I am afraid that it will not happen,“
„What disappoints me the most is that it could actually be effective. The best performance of this season was a 3-0 victory against „Tottenham“, when Balotelli made his debut in August. He played well with Sturridge, while Sterling played as an attacking midfielder. The speed and strength were the same as last season.“
„Will we see more of these moments when Sturridge returns? I hope so, but Balotelli is not showing consistency.“
