Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that he tried to sign Mario Balotelli for Paris Saint-Germain two years ago.
The Italian - now in charge of Real Madrid - says that he was impressed by Balotelli's heroics for Italy in Euro 2012.
However, Ancelotti has hinted that the prospective move collapsed because he deemed the 24-year-old to be a risk, insisting that Zlatan Ibrahimovic represented a "safer option".
"Would I sign Balotelli? I actually tried to sign him at Paris Saint-Germain," Ancelotti is quoted as saying by La Repubblica.
"He had just impressed at Euro 2012 with Italy. But then the opportunity to sign Ibrahimovic came up. We decided to go for the safer option."
Balotelli has endured an indifferent start to life at Liverpool since sealing a £16m summer move to Anfield from AC Milan, scoring just twice in 15 outings so far.
Ibrahimovic, 33, has scored 73 goals since joining the French giants from Milan in 2012.
Shane Callaghan
