LIVERPOOL -- Liverpool will not be selling Mario Balotelli in January, Brendan Rodgers insists, despite the striker's continuing struggles to make an impact at Anfield.
But Rodgers has jokingly agreed with Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini's suggestion that any manager in charge of Balotelli, 24, should be paid double for taking on the task.
The Italy international has failed to score a Premier League goal for Liverpool since arriving from AC Milan for 16 million pounds in August. He has not started a match for the club since Nov. 8, making just four substitute appearances since returning from a groin injury in December.
Rodgers said over Christmas that Balotelli does not fit into the 3-4-2-1 setup he has deployed in recent weeks, and so may have to get used to being on the bench.
Mancini, who signed the striker for Inter in 2006 and for Manchester City in 2010, suggested in an interview with Corriere della Sera on Wednesday that Balotelli was wasting his career by failing to live up to his potential.
Rodgers has notably refused to give any guarantees about the player's future beyond the end of this season, even though his Reds contract runs until 2017.
However, the Liverpool boss is adamant that Balotelli still has a significant role to play at Anfield.
He told a news conference: "Roberto knows him very well. I think he said that when you work with Mario, you should be paid double. I saw that, so I'll agree with that. I'll speak to the owners about that.
"But all joking aside, he has worked with Mario and knows him. Mario's a good guy. He hasn't scored the goals here that he would have wanted or we would have wanted.
"But we're determined to help him find the solution here, so he certainly won't be going anywhere in January."