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Yesterday was a whirlwind of Mario Balotelli as Liverpool swiftly moved for the Italian international and the deal caught many by surprise. A fee was agreed, certain clauses were proposed, and talks were held all in the name of bringing Balotelli to Anfield. It seems that Balotelli will be in the stands watching his new club take on his old club, as the deadline for registration for Monday's Premier League game has already passed, but the speed of the move indicates that all parties seem to be getting what they want without too many complications.
Quite a few news sources, including The Guardian and Liverpool Echo, broke news yesterday of the behaviour clauses that Balotelli had to agree to in order for the deal to proceed. Those have believed to been agreed to and the reliable James Pearce has confirmed that not only is Balotelli making his way to Liverpool for a medical but has also "agreed a deal worth around £110,000 per week" to move to Brendan Rodgers' side from AC Milan.
#LFC talks with Balotelli agent have reached successful conclusion. Player will now fly into UK this afternoon to begin medical.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) August 22, 2014
Only the search for a left back was protracted and Liverpool eventually snared the player who was identified as the club's number one choice. Moves for Yevhen Konoplyanka and Mohamed Salah were unsuccessful in January for a variety of reasons but Liverpool still managed to make a concerted, if unlikely, push for the league title. This summer, it was clear that Liverpool would need to be convincing in the transfer window to build on the rapid progress made over the course of Rodgers' second season and with the departure of Luis Suárez, this need would become even greater.
So, it appears that Balotelli is on his way to meet the Brendan Rodgers, Ian Ayre, and Dr Zaf Iqbal. Super Mario is coming.
BONUS QUESTION: Who was the original footballing "Super Mario" with the same first name and initials as Mario Balotelli? An excellent free-kick taker, this player was considered as a "technician" among his peers.
