Mario Balotelli of Liverpool looks on during his side's Premier League loss to Manchester United on Sunday at Old Trafford. Alex Livesey / Getty Images / December 14, 2014
Mario Balotelli of Liverpool looks on during his side's Premier League loss to Manchester United on Sunday at Old Trafford. Alex Livesey / Getty Images / December 14, 2014

Adel Taarabt declares Liverpool’s Mario Balotelli not ‘a world class player’



Moroccan international Adel Taarabt has added to Mario Balotelli's woes after dismissing suggestions the misfiring Liverpool striker was a world class player.

Queens Park Rangers striker Taarabt spent half a season on loan at AC Milan, where he played alongside Balotelli before the Italy international signed for Liverpool at the start of the season.

Taarabt also returned to England in time for the new season but has been training on his own recently amid a spat with QPR manager Harry Redknapp.

Taarabt confirmed recent reports in Italy when he admitted he was looking to return to Serie A and would play for Milan for free.

The 25-year-old, meanwhile, said he was not impressed by Balotelli during his five-month spell at the Serie A club.

“Everyone told me he was great. I’ve played with him and he is good but he didn’t strike me as a world class player,” Taarabt said in an interview with the Sky Football Night programme on Sky Sport.

“He’s a normal player, not a phenomenon. He has a strong shot but he’s not a team player, or if he is then he’s doing as he is now at Liverpool and not scoring.”

When he arrived on loan at Milan in January 2014, Taarabt remarked: “I want to be the new Balotelli.”

But the French-born Moroccan added on Balotelli: “He has had so many chances, from (Manchester) City to Milan, and he’s wasted them.

“I would give up my salary to play for Milan again. English football is more attractive and at a very high level, but I prefer Italy.”

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Kolkata Knight Riders 245/6 (20 ovs)
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Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species

Camelpox

Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.

Falconpox

Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.

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Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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