Mario Balotelli thanks the Liverpool fans & seems confident about next season

Mario Balotelli was not part of Liverpool's woeful 6-1 Premier League defeat at Stoke on Sunday.

In a sign of where Balotelli stands under Brendan Rodgers right now, Liverpool did not even play a recognised striker at Stoke.

Whilst Steven Gerrard started nominally up front and scored, Rickie Lambert came off the bench as Raheem Sterling, who has played as a striker this season, watched on as an unused substitute.

Balotelli made 16 appearances for Liverpool in the Premier League, scoring just one goal.

The 24-year-old Italian last played for Liverpool in the 1-0 defeat at eventually relegated Hull at the end of April.

It was truly a shocking season for Balotelli who did not even come close to replacing Luis Suarez at Anfield.

Nevertheless, Balotelli posted an upbeat Instagram post on Sunday evening.

The former AC Milan striker tagged his post: "Thanks to Liverpool funs for this year …. I m loading for next season. #beast"

Unfortunately, the majority of the comments on the Balotelli post from Liverpool fans seem very negative.