Mario Balotelli on a free is still over the odds, says Jamie Carragher as Nice new boy gets down to training

MARIO BALOTELLI may have gone on a free to Nice… But Jamie Carragher believes that is still “paying over the odds” for the striker.

The Italian’s miserable two-year spell at Anfield finally came to an end on Monday as he joined the French Ligue 1 side on a one-year deal.

Troubled Balotelli cost the Anfield side £16m two years ago, but a dire return of just four goals in 28 appearances made him surplus to requirements for Kop boss Jurgen Klopp.

With his hefty wages, the club were desperate to get him off their books, therefore forcing them to offer him to potential suitors without a fee.

It was Nice that have decided to take the plunge. And although no money was splashed to bring him to the French south coast, it is still too much for Liverpool legend Carragher.

The former centre-half and now Sky Sports pundit said via Twitter: “Balotelli on a free is still paying over the odds by Nice.”

Still, despite the online trolling from the Reds icon, the French side’s president believes Balotelli can put the problems of his past at Manchester City, AC Milan and Anfield behind him.

And even thinks that they can get him firing on all cylinders once again.

Jean-Pierre Rivere said: “We are very pleased to welcome Mario.

“We hope that Nice, in a family atmosphere, will help him rediscover his joy for the game.

“We both know that nothing will be easy but with the desire and support of all our fans, we’ll help him to flourish and bring his talent to the service of the team.”

The 26-year-old forward met his new team-mates, including Brazilian international Dante, for the first time on Thursday at training.

And he quickly set about showing them that despite his issues, he does know where the back of the net is, as you can see from the above video posted by the club online.

Balotelli will be officially unveiled in front of the media on Friday.