<<Print>>

Former African footballer of the year El Hadji Diouf has blasted former teammate and old foe Steven Gerrard saying he's the reason 'bad boy' Mario Balotelli didn't make it at Liverpool.

The controversial Italian striker Balotelli scored two goals on his debut for Nice in a win over Marseille on Sunday. He moved to Ligue 1 after having his Liverpool contract terminated.  Speaking after the game, Balotelli said that moving to Liverpool was the worst decision of his career, Diouf then used the opportunity to dish out on Gerrard.

Speaking to L’Equipe, he said: “I told him not to go to Liverpool. It wasn’t made for him, that things couldn’t go well with Gerrard, who has never had his talent and then said negative things about him.

'Gerrard is a jealous man who doesn’t like men of character. Mario is a good person that you should listen to. He’s not a guy who’s going to cause problems in the dressing room.'

“There are a lot of things that have been made up about him. People tell tales about him, but they’re often a load of rubbish.”

''He doesn't like black people’. He’s not a fan.'