Wednesday, 1st October, 2014
Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey believes it is wrong to compare Mario Balotelli with Luis Suarez.
Suarez left Liverpool for Barcelona over the summer, quitting Anfield having powered the Reds to a title challenge, finished as the Premier League's top scorer and won the FWA and PFA Player of the Year awards.
In an effort to replace Suarez's goals, boss Brendan Rodgers drafted in Balotelli, signed from AC Milan for £16m.
But Heskey believes Balotelli is some way short of Suarez, who he considers to be one of the top three or four players in the world, and should instead be compared to Daniel Sturridge, who saw his career take off upon joining Liverpool from Chelsea in January 2013.
"The funny thing is that a lot of people are comparing him with Suarez. I think it's wrong to compare them", Heskey told BBC Radio 5 live.
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"You're comparing Mario Balotelli with someone who is probably among the top three or four players in the world. You've got to take Mario for what he is. You've seen what Sturridge has brought since coming to Liverpool and working under Brendan.
"He was at Manchester City and Chelsea, and not really thriving under their management. Now with Brendan, he's an outstanding player on the world stage as well", the former striker concluded.
Balotelli has managed just one goal for Liverpool so far, having turned out in six games for the Reds.
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