Liverpool flop Mario Balotelli claims Brendan Rodgers must share responsibility for his nightmare spell at Anfield after completing his season-long loan to former club AC Milan.
Balotelli endured a torrid time last season, scoring only four goals in 28 appearances in all competitions, and had been been training away from the first-team squad for most of pre-season.
Following his return to the club he left last summer in a £16million deal, the Italy international has suggested Rodgers' tactics made it difficult for him.
'I must accept my faults but the formation chosen by Rodgers was not suited to my characteristics,' he told Gazetta dello Sport.
'At the beginning I missed several easy chances, then I had fewer chances to score, a bit of bad luck, injuries. A mess of things.'
In his first spell with Milan, Balotelli scored 30 times in 54 appearances but failed to replicate that form with Liverpool, notching just one Premier League goal.
But Balotelli has hit out at suggestions that his behaviour hindered his progress at the club and insists he was professional throughout his woeful spell at Liverpool.
'I never complained, I accepted the decisions of the manager and I always behaved like a professional,' he added.
'The professional Mario didn't just land here in Milan, even at Liverpool my behaviour and lifestyle were normal.
'Over the last year there was never a problem with my private life. I may have put pictures from restaurants on Instagram but that does not mean I did not train, even though I was not playing.'
Liverpool confirmed the loan deal on Thursday morning, with a statement on the website reading: ‘Liverpool FC have confirmed striker Mario Balotelli has today completed a season-long loan switch to AC Milan.
‘The 25-year-old will spend the duration of 2015-16 with the Serie A outfit. Balotelli made 28 appearances for the Reds in the previous campaign following a move to Anfield from Milan last August.’
