Liverpool‘s on-loan striker Mario Balotelli has been urged to prove his worth at AC Milan if wants to receive a new contract at the club.
“Balotelli has to earn the right to play for Milan,” Milan CEO Adriano Galliani told Mediaset Premium [as per Football Italia].
“He knows that, we had a very long talk about it. He must convince us to buy him outright, so it depends only on him. Mario has everything it takes to achieve that aim. We hope he will achieve it.”
The 25-year-old moved to Liverpool during the summer of 2014, ostensibly as a replacement for Luis Suarez, who was sold to Barcelona.
The attacker struggled during his maiden campaign at Anfield, scoring only one goal in 16 Premier League outings for the Reds.
He was sent on loan to Milan during the summer, and hasn’t wholly proved that he can thrive at an elite club during a troubled year for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side.
While admittedly, Balotelli has struggled with injury, he has managed just one goal in 16 Serie A showings—of which only four have been starts—and to date, clearly hasn’t done enough to convince Galliani that he deserves an extended stay in Lombardy.
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However, Balotelli demonstrated his residual qualities during Saturday evening’s defeat at the hands of Juventus, stinging Gianluigi Buffon’s finger tips with an early free kick, before providing the assist for Alex’s opener.