Mario Balotelli pledges never to return to Liverpool, but says he likes Arsenal

Former Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has revealed that he will not return to Anfield in the future, irrespective of whether or not the Reds want him. The Italian spent two years at Liverpool, but has now found a place for himself in Nice, where he is scoring goals for fun and is appreciated by fans.

The striker is back in contention for a start against Paris Saint-Germain over the weekend after being on the sidelines for more than a month. He has six goals in six appearances thus far in the French league and is looking good to recover his best form since his time at Inter Milan.

Balotelli moved to Manchester City before coming to Liverpool, where he had a woeful time under Rodgers and was loaned out to AC Milan, where he scored only one goal in 20 appearances. However, he still has aspirations of making it in the Premier League, but prefers a move to the likes of Arsenal and City among the big four.

"For sure not Liverpool," Balotelli told the Chinese news agency Xinhua, as quoted by ESPN, when asked which club he would prefer. "Because I find myself very bad in Liverpool. I said the team was good and the fans are amazing, but I would never go back to Liverpool.

"The first one I think in England is Manchester City, and the second team I always like is Arsenal.That doesn't mean I'll go to play there. I just like them."

He also has aspirations of winning the Ballon d'Or and despite competition from the likes of Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, he thinks he has what it takes to make it at the top.

"Ronaldo and Messi are in this moment the best and nobody's like them. Impossible. But if I had a good year, without [being] injured and [staying focused], I think it's not impossible [for me] to win the golden ball [Ballon d'Or].

"Even [if] one day I won the golden ball, I think Ronaldo and Messi are the best because they won like four or five times."