Liverpool have taken a clear £16 million hit on Mario Balotelli.

The Sunday Mirror says Liverpool's desperation to get Balotelli off their books has seen the Anfield club sanction his FREE transfer to Nice, two years after they paid £16m to sign the Italian.

Balotelli was not the striker Brendan Rodgers wanted during his time as Liverpool manager, yet the deal was pushed through by the club's controversial transfer committee in the summer of 2014.

Now the full cost of one of the most disastrous transfer errors of recent times has been revealed, with Liverpool writing off all of the fee the paid to sign the striker who arrived with a high maintenance reputation.

Despite all the warnings that Balotelli would be an expensive mistake at Liverpool, the club agreed to a deal that say the maverick Italian arrive at Anfield and after starting just 10 Premier League games, he has now left for nothing.