• Premier League

'Balotelli loves to prove people wrong'

Mario Balotelli "can't wait to prove people wrong" at Liverpool, according to West Ham midfielder Alex Song.

Liverpool travel to Upton Park on Saturday with Balotelli set to continue leading the line after scoring his first goal for the club in the 2-1 Champions League win over Ludogorets Razgrad on Tuesday.

Brendan Rodgers has said that Balotelli knows he is facing his "last chance" to make it at an elite club and Song has revealed that the controversial striker is determined to grasp the opportunity following his £16 million move from AC Milan.

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"Mario is a strong player and a strong character. I love him because when people talk about him in a bad way, he can't wait to show people they are wrong," Song told The Sun.

"He goes out and it's like he says, 'Look at me, I am a bad guy, but I can score a lot of goals'.

"During games you want to be the winner and sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. You know you have to be an example for the young kids and everyone makes mistakes.

"I like the player and I like the man. When you see guys on the pitch, you can sometimes think they are arrogant but they are not. Outside of football you see a different face on the man.

"I have seen him do lots of things to make people smile. You can't buy smiles. At the World Cup I saw that he was doing lots of things for young people in Brazil, he was helping young kids.

"Last December I went to Guinea for a charity to help the poor and I asked him if he would sign a shirt for me. He said, 'Don't worry my brother' and two days later a signed shirt from him and one from Kaka arrived."

Former Arsenal midfielder Song is on loan at West Ham for the season from Barcelona, where Luis Suarez moved from Anfield in a £75 million deal this summer.

Song has said, however, that Balotelli should not be considered a like-for-like replacement for Suarez at Liverpool.

"Mario needs time at Liverpool, he is still so young. But he shouldn't be seen as a direct replacement for [Luis] Suarez," added Song.

"When I was at Arsenal I played with Thierry Henry and, when he left, the fans wanted to know who would replace him. But there's no way you can replace him.

"Mario is the same. He wants to write his own story, as we all do. He will score lots of goals - there is still so much more to come."

Song also says he has no hard feelings over former Manchester City striker Balotelli's high tackle on him at the Emirates Stadium in April 2012.

"That's all water under the bridge, these things happen in football," Song said. "Our friendship will never be affected by what happens during 90 minutes on a pitch."

Alex Song says Mario Balotelli's high tackle on him at the Emirates Stadium in April 2012 in "water under the bridge" © Getty Images

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