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Jamie Redknapp: 'Mario Balotelli doesn't have a future at Liverpool'

Jamie Redknapp believes that 'disrespectful' Mario Balotelli does not have a future at Liverpool following the controversial penalty incident against Besiktas.

Jamie Redknapp believes that Mario Balotelli does not have a long-term future at Liverpool because of the controversial striker's 'disrespectful' nature.

The 24-year-old made the headlines on Thursday night by taking the ball off stand-in captain Jordan Henderson after the Reds won a penalty at Anfield in their last-32 clash against Besiktas in the Europa League.

Balotelli, who has a strong penalty record, found the back of the net and gave Liverpool a 1-0 lead ahead of next week's second leg in Turkey, but he was criticised for ignoring team orders by his skipper Steven Gerrard, who was a guest pundit for ITV's coverage of the game.

Redknapp believes that Liverpool will offload Balotelli in the near future due to his headline-grabbing antics.

In an interview with talkSPORT, Redknapp said: "The problem you have with Mario is I don't think he has got a lot of respect for anybody.

"He has worked with some of the best managers in [Cesare] Prandelli, [Jose] Mourinho, [Roberto] Mancini - everybody he has worked with has tried with this man but nobody seems to get to the bottom of it.

"I don't see long-term he will be at Anfield, I really don't. He has scored a couple of goals in fairness - the goals against Tottenham and yesterday were important, but I am sure Brendan Rodgers is thinking he is more hassle than he is worth because he hasn't produced the quality you would like and when you look at other players around him they don't seem to enjoy his company on the field."

Balotelli, who arrived on Merseyside from AC Milan for £16m in September, has scored twice in his last three appearances.

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