Former Liverpool striker Ricky Lambert has revealed how disruptive Mario Balotelli used to be in training during his time at the club.
When Luis Suarez left for Barcelona in the summer of 2014, Brendan Rodgers then Liverpool coach signed Ricky Lambert and Mario Balotelli to cover up for the departed Uruguayan.
Balotelli scored only four goals in 28 appearances for the Premier League giants before he left on a free transfer two years later when Jurgen Klopp succeeded Rodgers.
Former Reds striker Ricky Lambert has said he was surprised by his strike partner's antics in training.
"He was a good lad, childish but infectious. But as soon as he stepped on the training pitch, he became a different person," the former England international told the Straight From The Off podcast.
"I've never seen anything like it, to be honest. I was at the pinnacle of my time as a professional, so to come across him was just
"At first, he gave everything when he played. But in training, I could tell he wasn't giving his all. He was answering Brendan back and my head went with that.
"The fact that he was playing in front of me didn't bother me at first, I thought 'I'll get myself in', but just seeing the way he was in training, and then he was playing, it did affect me a little bit.
"My head went with him in training, and I had to go in and say to Brendan, 'Don't put me on his team again'. I think Stevie (Gerrard, then-Liverpool captain) had said the same.
"His head would just go. If it wasn't going his way, he would just ruin the session basically. He'd kick the ball away, score an own goal.
"I was speaking to Joe Hart and the lads at England, and they were like, 'He was like that at City'. I'd ask them: 'How did he get away with it?' They just shook their heads."