Mario Balotelli's agent says Liverpool 'are the only club for him'

Mario Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola is taking control of the player's current situation at Liverpool and refuses to move his client out of England, a mistake he regrets when the striker transferred away from Manchester City.

Balotelli left the Premier League in 2013 for a move back to his home country, Italy, to join AC Milan. But Raiola says he would treat the situation differently if he could do it all over again.

"I've always been one who wanted to make my players happy. With everybody else, I've always done things my way, but not with him," Raiola said, courtesy of Ben Gladwell from ESPNFC. "'I need my mum and my friends in Italy,'" he said. "And being a father myself and wanting him to be happy, I took him back to Italy from City.

"I should have told him: 'You are not going back to Italy. City are a big club and they will always support you. This is the football that matters and you want out of it.'"

The agent's optimistic approach suggests Balotelli is in the process of learning from his controversial tenure at the Merseyside club and proposes the Italian has the capability of adapting to life at Anfield.

Raiola's comments come just a week after manager Brendan Rodgers publicly criticized Balotelli for his lack of drive away from the pitch, which has hampered his adjustment to life back in the Premier League.

However, Balotelli's natural football abilities are the driving force behind Raiola's belief in him.

"Mario is the kind of player who can change a game in two or three moments so they've got to adapt to him and he's got to adapt to them," Raiola added. "Liverpool are different to other clubs. They cannot afford to have 10 players doing all the running for one superstar.

"I saw him on Monday and told him: 'You've got a four-year contract here and I'm not taking you anywhere else. Either you leave Liverpool for 60-70 million euros, and I win my bet, or you will die there.'"

The tone of Raiola's message is necessary at this stage in Balotelli's career, as he aspires to find a permanent home for his client.

"This period with Liverpool is the biggest lesson he has had. He's applying himself a lot now and his private life has calmed down too. It's not worth asking if Liverpool are the right club for him any more - they are the only club for him."