Transfer Deadline Day 2016: Liverpool cut Mario Balotelli loose as striker joins Nice for free

Balotelli scored just one Premier League goal in 16 appearances after his arrival from AC Milan, when he was brought in right at the end of the summer window in 2014 with then-manager Brendan Rodgers running out of alternatives.

The Italy international went back on loan to Milan last season but mustered only one league goal in another 20 appearances as his career continued to plummet.

Balotelli, now 26, will hope to resurrect his reputation with a spell in Ligue 1 with Nice - the club which Hatem Ben Arfa used as a springboard back to the top of European football last season, earning a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

A club statement read:

The Italian was once one of European football's most prized youngsters, commanding a transfer fee of £24 million when he joined Manchester City from Inter in 2010 after winning the treble with Jose Mourinho.

But his bizarre behaviour off the pitch, extensively chronicled during his time at City, came to overshadow his contribution on it, even if his first spell at Milan saw him score 26 goals in 18 months in Serie A.

Liverpool also confirmed that midfielder Lazar Markovic has joined Sporting on loan for the season.