Andrea Pirlo’s hope for Mario Balotelli seems completely unrealistic

Mario Balotelli's career has been on a downward trajectory for a couple of years, but it's easy to forget the Italian international is still just 25-years-old.

The Liverpool striker has failed to reach double figures in the goalscoring charts since the 2013/14 campaign, netting just seven times across the last two seasons. But his old international team-mate Andrea Pirlo has faith in the former Internazionale player, saying "He still has time to make it at the very top."

"I have played with some of the best strikers, and I can tell you Mario has all the attributes to be one of the best strikers in the world," Pirlo is quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror. "By now I thought that is where he would be, that is where he should be. He has no more time to waste."

Pirlo played alongside Balotelli at Euro 2012, when Italy reached the final only to lose 4-0 to Spain. However, both were left out of the squad for this summer's European Championships in France, where the Azzurri were eliminated by Germany on penalties at the quarter-final stage. Balotelli has been linked with a permanent return to Serie A, and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has encouraged the forward to move to a club where he will be able to play regularly.