Jurgen Klopp is ‘a piece of s***’ for his treatment towards Mario Balotelli, claims superagent Mino Raiola
Italian agent claims the Liverpool manager was too harsh towards the former Reds striker
SUPERAGENT Mino Raiola has sensationally branded Jurgen Klopp "a piece of s***' over his treatment of Mario Balotelli.
Raiola also claimed the Liverpool boss is overrated as a manager - and that Anfield directors AGREED with him that Klopp was too harsh on Balotelli.
Speaking to , Raiola said: "At the end of the day the Liverpool directors admitted Klopp was unfair.
"I won’t judge him as a coach, even if for me he isn’t a great tactician, but I don’t think he realised we were talking about a person. Mario was exemplary, he never complained even when training alone.
"It’s not enough to say Klopp was unfair: he was a piece of s***."
Klopp, 49, previously said of the Italian striker: “With a lot of players it is not the moment to talk of transfers.
“But I can talk of Mario because that one is obvious and I have spoken to him about this.
“He’s not at the stage of his career where he should be battling with four or five other players for one or two positions.
“We want him to become the player he was before his injury and the talent is still there, there’s no doubt about it."
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Raiola also claimed Balotelli, 26, is the perfect man to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Ligue 1 in order to boost viewers.
He added: "In France it’s a very physical league with new stadiums and more open football. In Italy the games always end 1-0 or 2-1.
"There is always too strong a focus on Mario in Italy. I tried to find him a place where he can be judged on his football and not his private life. We therefore had to exclude Italy, even if over the last two years his life off the field has been dead boring.
"Lucien Favre wanted Mario in the team and in the end that convinced us. In England he would’ve had to deal with the image of the past, while many clubs have so much money they’ll buy a player even if they don’t need him.
"It’s natural Balo is considered a risk because over the last two years he has not lived up to expectations. In that sense he’s a gamble, but I’d happily take those odds.
"If it goes well, you win the League. If it’s only decent, you finish in the top five. If it goes badly, oh well.
"Those who have the TV rights for Ligue 1 should give Nice a bonus. Without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, this league has lost at least 50 per cent of its media value. With Mario, it recovers at least 30 per cent, because he’s a talented star, hoping this year it finally works out for him.
"I expect 20 goals this season. And if he’s in the same shape as he is now, he’ll definitely get 20."