It was during the week after Liverpool’s home defeat to Manchester United in March when a realisation struck among those with influence inside Anfield that Mario Balotelli would not change.

Two stories reflect Balotelli’s listless attitude. During training Colin Pascoe, then Liverpool’s assistant manager, gathered the squad in a huddle close to Melwood’s perimeter wall. Thirty or 40 yards away, Jon Flanagan was hobbling by, an injured player facing almost a year on the sidelines. Balotelli started shouting towards him for no apparent reason, “Hey, hey…” interrupting Pascoe’s flow. For that, the Italian was threatened with banishment to the changing rooms.

Later in the afternoon, Balotelli scored a jaw-dropping goal from near the halfway line. Witnesses stood open-mouthed: first-team players shook their heads in disbelief, youngsters smirked nervously at the brilliance in front of them. One problem: the goal was at the wrong end.

At 1-1 during a 10 on 10 match, with Balotelli on the weaker team made up of likely substitutes for the weekend’s game at Arsenal as well as teenagers from the academy, he deemed it appropriate to turn around and fire a shot towards Brad Jones. The goalkeeper was helpless. Balotelli thought it hilarious, laughing away by himself in the centre circle.

When Liverpool’s squad travelled to London on Good Friday, Balotelli was not present. His next appearance came almost a month later as a substitute when Aston Villa stubbed out the remaining light on both his and Liverpool’s miserable campaigns.

Balotelli’s Liverpool career unravelled quickly. Staying up with friends late the night before a Champions League defeat to Basel in Switzerland was a bad way to endear himself to manager Brendan Rodgers. Then he was banned from driving after being caught speeding at 109mph on the M62 in December.

By Christmas, indeed, Balotelli did not know the names of some of his team-mates – regulars who feature in the starting XI. It is reasoned he lost out on moments where relationships are developed because he missed home cooking so much that rather than eating at Melwood before and after training, he organised for lunch and dinner to be delivered to his Formby mansion from an Italian restaurant.

Balotelli now knows he has no future at Liverpool. It did not deter him from beginning his 25th birthday celebrations at 1am on Wednesday morning, with friend Desmond N’Ze releasing a video on social media of the striker being sprayed with Veuve Clicquot champagne. Earlier, upon receiving a parking ticket in Liverpool’s city centre, Balotelli took to Instagram, revealing a photograph of the issuing attendant.

Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 Show all 17 1 /17 Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 17) Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) – down 11 from last week There was a lot of optimism on the South Coast ahead of the club’s first ever match in the top flight, but Aston Villa did well to dampen the occasion before nicking a 1-0 win. Wilson is still the main man for the Cherries, but Bournemouth’s survival probably won’t be decided by a trip to Anfield, where they play Monday night. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 16) Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle) – down 3 The powerful midfielder remains Newcastle’s Jack-of-all-trades, setting the tone in attack and defence with his athleticism, work rate and drive from midfield. He will have to be at his best if the Toon are to get past a well set up Swansea side. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 15) Romelu Lukaku (Everton) – non-mover Laid on the late equaliser for Arouna Kone but Toffees fans will be disappointed that their £28m man didn’t do more against newly-promoted Watford, with the Belgian barely touching the ball in the first half. He must do more against a Southampton defence that is still learning to play together. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 14) Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City) – new entry A brilliant solo performance from the Algerian who scored two goals and was full of energy and penetration all afternoon against Sunderland. Leicester City still look suspect at the back so will need their attacking players to win them matches rather than relying on their defence to tough it out. A visit to a solid West Ham team will be a good test. Getty Images Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 13) Micah Richards (Aston Villa) – new entry Playing in the centre for Tim Sherwood’s new look Aston Villa defence, Richards is filling the big void left by Ron Vlaar. He did well against Bournemouth but will have a much harder contest against old foes Manchester United – still only 27, a run of good performances could make him an outside contender for an England call up, with Roy Hodgson light on centre-backs. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 12) Mark Noble (West Ham United) – up 5 Reece Oxford (deservedly) got the headlines for his performance at Arsenal, the 16-year-old playing with a poise of men twice his age. But the skipper set the tone for a brilliant performance at the Emirates, making timely tackles and picking his passes. West Ham host Leicester and now must prove they can win matches when they are the team expected to take the initiative. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 11) Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) – up 1 The England striker barely got a sniff at Old Trafford, with Chris Smalling and Daley Blind dominant. His best moment was the pass to Christian Eriksen, who should have scored. There is a lot of expectation on Kane’s shoulders after his break-out season last year – he must perform better against Stoke. Getty Images Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 10) Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) – down 3 Philippe Coutinho was the match-winner against Stoke but Jordan Henderson is still the man who has to make Liverpool tick, especially with Steven Gerrard gone. Henderson and James Milner were still working out some kinks against the Potters but they looked solid and kept possession well. A home tie with Bournemouth should allow their partnership to further flourish. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 9) Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) – up 2 A late goal against Norwich was the cherry on top of an excellent debut for Palace’s record signing. Arsenal visit Selhurst Park on Sunday and Cabaye will be desperate to prove to Arsene Wenger that he should have signed him when he had the chance. Reuters Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 8) Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) – down 4 United didn’t create much at all for their star striker against Spurs, apart from the one opportunity that Kyle Walker mistakenly bundled home. Thankfully for United they travel to Villa Park, their favourite ground away from Old Trafford where they have lost just twice since 1992. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 7) Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion) – new entry Manchester City were brilliant on Monday night but West Brom were absolutely toothless. Their game plan had been to contain the visitors and try and steal a win but as soon as they conceded early they had no choice but to try and attack – it didn’t work. Berahino scored plenty of goals last term and although he wants a move away he is going to have to keep scoring if he wants to keep teams interested. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 6) Petr Cech (Arsenal) – down 3 A nightmare Arsenal debut for the goalkeeper against West Ham, easily one of his worst since arriving in the Premier League all those years ago. He will want to forget about as quickly as possible but Selhurst Park can be an intimidating and hostile place to try and restore a reputation. AFP/Getty Images Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 5) Troy Deeney (Watford) – non-mover Didn’t get on the scoresheet against Everton but proved he will be a handful in his first season in the Premier League. A home game against West Brom is the type of game Watford have to win if they have any hope of survival this season – it’s been a while since Vicarage Road saw Premier League football so the Hornets will be desperate to impress. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 4) Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) – up 5 Defoe did what he does and got on the scoresheet but it was the players around him who suffered against Leicester with a shoddy performance. It’s only the second week of the season but the match against newly-promoted Norwich already seems like a must-win for Dick Advocaat and the Black Cats. Getty Images Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 3) Bradley Johnson (Norwich City) – down 1 The Canaries played really well last week and at the time of Cameron Jerome’s disallowed goal – it should have been allowed – they were well on top and might have gone on to win the match against Crystal Palace. At least a point at Sunderland is needed for the relegation fighters. GETTY IMAGES Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 2) David Silva (Manchester City) – new entry I must admit, I had slightly written off City before the season after a poor, in my opinion, summer of business that only saw Raheem Sterling arrive. How wrong I was. City produced the performance of the weekend to completely dismantle West Brom. Yaya Toure was absolutely outstanding but the vision and craft of David Silva is an absolute sight to behold. No one plays the attacking midfield role better in the Premier League. Getty Images Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 2 1) Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – non-mover The Belgian is still top but that’s not because he is producing at the highest level but more because Jose Mourinho and the Blues need him to produce some magic at the Etihad. Hazard has not had the best pre-season and looked tired against Swansea – he started almost every game for Chelsea in all competitions last season and carried the burden of being their go-to threat week in, week out. Chelsea cannot contemplate losing to Manchester City, and that Hazard was at the centre of the Eva Caniero storm only makes it that much more important for him to play well. Getty Images

Until 18 months ago, N’Ze was also a footballer, contracted to Fujeida MYFC in the Japanese third division. Having met Balotelli at Internazionale in 2008, N’Ze is said to have given up on his professional career and since has operated as Balotelli’s gopher.

The pair have been inseparable on Merseyside, with Balotelli frequently inviting N’Ze into Melwood before it was made clear by management that he would not be welcome.

As last season ambled towards a conclusion, N’Ze was often seen sleeping in the passenger seat of Balotelli’s red Ferrari in Melwood’s car park, waiting for his friend to finish work.