page_title: Mario Balotelli
section_title: 2014–15
hierarchical_section_title: Mario Balotelli / Club career / Liverpool / 2014–15
caption_attribution_description: English: Liverpool player Mario Balotelli during their defeat to West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground, London, September 2014
context_page_description: Mario Balotelli Barwuah is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie B club Brescia and the Italy national team.
  He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at Barcelona, and subsequently joining Inter Milan in 2007. Inter manager Roberto Mancini brought Balotelli into the first team, but when Mancini left, Balotelli's disciplinary record fell away. He had a strained relationship with new manager José Mourinho and was suspended from Inter's first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems.
  With doubts over his career at Inter, former coach Roberto Mancini had since moved to Manchester City and decided to give Balotelli a fresh chance at a new club. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities continued to be enigmatic and unpredictable. Balotelli eventually fell out of favour with Mancini after a "training ground bust up" between the two in January 2013. His departure from City and return to Italy with Milan followed several weeks later.
context_section_description: In August 2014, Balotelli joined Liverpool for a £16 million transfer fee to replace the outgoing Luis Suárez. He made his Liverpool debut in a league game away to Tottenham Hotspur on 31 August, a game Liverpool won 3–0. Balotelli scored his first Liverpool goal on 16 September, opening a 2–1 Anfield victory against Ludogorets Razgrad in the group stage of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. In a match in the same competition on 22 October against Real Madrid, Balotelli was criticised by manager Brendan Rodgers for swapping shirts with opponent Pepe at half time, saying, "It's something that doesn't happen here and shouldn't happen here."
  On 18 December 2014, Balotelli was suspended for one match and fined £25,000 for posting an image on social media which appeared to contain anti-Semitic and racist references.
  Balotelli's first Premier League goal for Liverpool came on his 13th appearance, on 10 February 2015, an 83rd-minute winner in a 3–2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, nine minutes after replacing Daniel Sturridge. He scored just 4 goals in 28 appearances and at season's end and was adjudged by many to be among the worst signings of the season.
caption: Balotelli playing for Liverpool in September 2014.
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