Past playersMario Balotelli

The powerful forward became the Reds' ninth new recruit that summer and it meant a return to English football following his previous spell in the Premier League with Manchester City.

By the time of his arrival at Anfield, Balotelli had already represented his country 33 times and featured in three international tournaments – Euro 2012, the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.

Born in Palermo, his emergence in professional football began at Internazionale, where his precocious talent was evident immediately as he netted twice on his full debut.

His contribution in Serie A grew by the season and soon caught the attention of big-spending City, who swooped to sign Balotelli at 19 years of age and reunite him with manager Roberto Mancini.

As well as scoring 30 goals in 80 appearances for the club, he played a key role in their FA Cup success of 2011 and – even more importantly – set up the 94th-minute Sergio Aguero strike that secured the league title a year later.

Balotelli maintained his prolific exploits upon a return to his homeland, this time with AC Milan, and was considered Italy's talisman after an incredible display in the semi-final victory over Germany at Euro 2012.

Liverpool were impressed enough to bring Balotelli back to England in the summer of 2014 as the Reds sought to build on their second-placed finish the previous season with additional firepower.

It proved to be a difficult campaign for the team, however, and the forward was limited to four goals in 28 appearances – with each of his strikes coming at Anfield.

He went out on loan a year later, re-joining AC Milan for the season, and a further 12 months down the line brought his Liverpool career to a conclusion by agreeing a permanent transfer to French side Nice.