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Former Liverpool man Fabio Borini has made a surprising choice when naming the best teammates he has shared a dressing room with during his career, selecting a player widely considered to be a flop at Anfield.
Borini is now plying his trade in League Two in the final chapters of what has been a remarkable career. Salford City announced his surprise signing as a free agent last month, with Borini returning to England eight years after departing Sunderland to join AC Milan.
In his distinguished career, the 34-year-old also represented Chelsea, Roma and Sampdoria, and earned one international cap. It was when representing Italy that he played alongside Andrea Pirlo, who he feels is among the best teammates from his career.
However, the other name put forward may come as a surprise. “[Mario] Balotelli was one of the best because of his technical abilities” said Borini in an interview with the Independent. “He was a great player with not much control of his mind.”
Borini only played alongside his Italian counterpart seven times during his short-lived spell at Anfield, although the pair were also briefly teammates with the Italian Under-21 side.
Both are synonymous with the post-Luis Suarez era at Liverpool, during which the funds from the Uruguayan’s sale were wastefully invested in the latter stages of Brendan Rodgers' tenure at the club.
It was the Northern Irishman who convinced Borini to follow him to Liverpool after impressing during a spell on loan at Swansea City. The Swans gained promotion under Rodgers’ watch, while Borini also knew him well from his time at Chelsea’s underage setup.
Yet it appears the pair have not maintained a strong bond over the years.
“It was alright. I played for him three times,” reflected Borini. “Liverpool was a bit difficult for me in terms of getting game time.
“I was expecting more from myself. He was probably expecting more from me also. We just move on. Football is football. You just keep going, nothing else.”
Borini made 38 appearances for Liverpool across a three-year period, although one season was spent on loan at Sunderland.
The now Salford man managed three goals in that time, and was sold to Sunderland in 2015.
The Italian has made three appearances since signing for Salford, including a 67-minute showing against Lincoln City last weekend in his first start for the club.
He also revealed in his interview with the Independent that co-owners Gary Neville and David Beckham had no impact on his decision to join Salford.
“I obviously knew about it because of the media attention they created with the owners,” said Borini. “He [Neville] wasn’t part of the deal. There was nothing coming from above.”
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