'Balotelli needs bread and water, not a Ferrari' – Sampdoria president Ferrero

The 24-year-old has endured a nightmare season at Anfield and his countryman believes he should follow the example of Antonio Cassano by moving to Stadio Luigi Ferraris


Liverpool misfit Mario Balotelli should choose a more modest lifestyle at Sampdoria if he wants to revive his career, according to the club’s outspoken president Massimo Ferrero.

Balotelli has endured a nightmare season at Anfield, scoring just four goals in 25 appearances since arriving in a £16 million deal from Milan last summer and frequently attracting criticism for his attitude.

Ferrero believes the 24-year-old has lost his desire for football and needs to come to Stadio Luigi Ferraris in order to re-discover his best form – in much the same manner as fellow Italian bad boy Antonio Cassano did upon leaving Real Madrid in acrimonious circumstances in the summer of 2007.

“I’d sign him,” Ferrero insisted when asked about Balotelli on Gazzetta TV.

“If he came to Sampdoria, he would come back to his usual standards. Here nobody would bother him if he missed a goal, he would be quiet and happy.

“In my opinion he’s not hungry anymore, he earns 4 million euros a year. We should put him on bread and water, give him a Bianchina [a very small, working class car from the 1960s] rather than a Ferrari… then I’m sure he would score again.”

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