LIVERPOOL MANAGER BRENDAN RODGERS has rejected speculation linking him with a bid for AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli.
Rodgers spoke about the former Manchester City player in glowing terms when he was asked about him last week, but the Northern Irishman said that his admiration would not translate into a formal offer for the 23-year-old.
“I can categorically tell you Mario Balotelli will not be at Liverpool,” Rodgers told a press conference in Miami on Sunday, in comments that were widely published in the British media.
“In my last press conference I was asked a question about [him] and I talked about what a talent he was and what an excellent player he was.
“And the next day it was wrote (sic) as if we were signing him. I just gave my perception of him as a player. It shouldn’t be transmitted into us signing the player.”
Liverpool lost star striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona last month, but Rodgers had previously brought in England international Rickie Lambert from Southampton as cover.
Teenage Belgium striker Divock Origi has also joined the club from Lille, but he was immediately sent back to the French side on a season long loan.
