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The writing might have been on the wall for quite some time, but AC Milan have now made it official: they won't be seeking a permanent deal for Liverpool loanee Mario Balotelli.
The 25-year-old striker only managed to find the back of the net once in 20 Serie A appearances (12 of which were as a substitute), as Milan struggled to a 7th place league finish. Despite Balotelli's public statements about wanting to stick around Milan, the club president made it clear he would not.
"Balotelli's contract with us has expired and there are going to be many players leaving us," AC Milan's president Silvio Berlusconi explained. "Players like Alex, Mexes, Boateng and Balotelli are all out of contract and there will be others released too."
If Balotelli didn't get much of a shot at Milan, things don't appear brighter at Anfield. Prior to taking the Liverpool job Jürgen Klopp shared his feelings about Balotelli and some of his notorious antics. Those feelings were not overly positive to say the least, going as far as saying, "[Players who acted like Balotelli did at Manchester City] would never wear this club's shirt again."
Presumably Liverpool will now look to the Chinese Super League to find a suitable buyer, as neither the club nor player seem interested in giving it another go.