Thursday, 23rd October, 2014
Former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen is concerned that Mario Balotelli may have lost the respect of his team-mates.
Balotelli, who has scored just once for Liverpool since joining the club from AC Milan in the summer, was brought off at half-time in the club's 3-0 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid last night.
The Italian, who was lacklustre throughout, swapped shirts with Real Madrid defender Pepe at half-time, further angering the Liverpool supporters.
Owen though is more concerned about what Balotelli's team-mates think and feels they may have lost respect for the striker.
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He said via his Twitter account: "Most worrying thing is his team-mates' body language towards him.
"Once you lose their respect it's a big struggle."
However, Owen says he would still hand Balotelli a starting spot for Liverpool's weekend clash against Hull City at Anfield.
"I'd still start Balotelli at the weekend", he added.
"I'm not a big fan of his but he has more class than most. Harsh to put all the blame on him."
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