What if? That’s the question many Liverpool fans have been asking themselves over the last twelve months, having been subjected to just 28 games of Mario Balotelli before the Italian was sent back to his former employers.
BBC Sport have confirmed that the hit-and-miss centre-forward, who has fallen well short of his best form during his brief time on Merseyside, has completed his medical at AC Milan and is on the verge of rejoining the San Siro club.
Balotelli scored just four goals during his time at Anfield, only one of which came in the Premier League, and sadly his spell with us will not be one that lives long in the memories of many members of the Liverpool faithful.
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Of course, these things happen from time to time. Over the years we’ve had a handful of ‘flops’ who have all been talented players that we were excited to see sign, but for one reason or another it hasn’t worked out for them.
Here are our top five:
5) Florent Sinama-Pongolle & Anthony Le Tallec
These two French cousins were signed by Gerard Houllier from Le Havre in 2001, and were rarely mentioned in the same sentence without the other – hence why we’ve put them together here! Le Tallec especially was mooted as a future world-class player, and they cost plenty of money 14 years back. Two years later, they both returned to Liverpool after their respective loan spells and were greeted by a wave of optimism and excitement around Anfield. Sadly, Pongolle scored just nine goals during his time with us, although his memorable strike against Olympiacos in the Champions League was enough to seal him a small spot in our history books. Le Tallec played 17 times for us in the top flight and stayed put until 2008, but never managed to truly establish himself.
4) Fernando Morientes
The Spaniard was signed by Rafael Benitez in 2005. With the striker coming off the back of impressive spells with Real Madrid and Monaco where he scored a hugely impressive total of 121 goals in seven-and-a-half-years, the expectations were understandably high. Unfortunately, Morientes did not take well to English football and looked a little out of his depth as he struggled for goals. He managed 12 during his 18 month spell at Anfield, during which he was still able to pick up an FA Cup winner’s medal. Sadly though, he was probably already past his best.
3) El Hadji Diouf
Gerrard Houllier thought he’d signed the next big thing when he poached this Senegal international, one of the stars of the 2002 World Cup, for his Liverpool squad. That belief was seemingly confirmed when the player proceeded to score a brace on his home debut against Southampton. Unfortunately, it all went rather rapidly downhill from there. Diouf only managed four further goals during his two year stay on Merseyside, which will be better remembered for his lack of discipline. He received 13 yellow cards and one red card during the 2003-04 season, and spat on a Celtic fan. Terrible signing, awful bloke.
2) Nuri Sahin
This Turkish international was considered one of the most exciting young midfielders around when he signed for Liverpool on loan in 2012. Despite flopping at Real Madrid, where injury dictated that he would make just four appearances, his incredibly impressive record with Borussia Dortmund suggested he would have plenty to offer at Anfield. He scored twice in a League Cup win over West Brom and scored one and made two during a Premier League success against Norwich, but opportunities remained hard to come by and his loan deal was cut short. Famously slaughtered Brendan Rodgers when he left for playing him as a no.10 and not an anchorman.
1) Alberto Aquilani
The man tasked with replacing Xabi Alonso. He’ll probably go down as one of the worst signings Liverpool have ever made, a statement which is grossly unfair on his ability but perfectly sums up the difficulties he suffered – both in terms of form and injuries – during his stay at Anfield. The Italian international, who has admittedly never been the same player since his stay on Merseyside, managed just 26 appearances for us and arguably contributed towards Rafa Benitez losing his job. There were moments of promise but he never offered anywhere near enough and the £18m was ultimately wasted.
