'Mario Balotelli has matured'... Andrea Pirlo has his say on the Liverpool-bound striker

• Andrea Pirlo insists his Italy team-mate Mario Balotelli has grown up
• The midfielder says the Liverpool-bound striker must be left alone
• Pirlo believes that Balotelli could become one of Europe's best strikers
• Balotelli is expected to join Liverpool for £16million from AC Milan

Andrea Pirlo insists Liverpool-bound Mario Balotelli has matured, and learnt from the mistakes that blighted the early part of his career.

Balotelli's two-and-a-half-year spell at Manchester City included a reckless red card against Arsenal in April 2012 and numerous off-the-pitch misdemeanors, such as setting off fireworks in his house.

But since Balotelli joined AC Milan in January 2013, his Italy team-mate Pirlo believes the controversial forward has grown up

Pirlo said: 'Mario has matured since he has been back in Italy. He will be the first to admit when he was younger he made some mistakes - but he is not that player anymore.

'Anybody who still talks about him in that way is living in the past.'

The Juventus midfielder also believes that in the right environment, Balotelli will finally deliver on the promise he first showed as a teenager at Inter. 

The 35-year-old added: 'I have always said that in the right environment he has the potential to be one of the best strikers in Europe. 

'He needs to be given space. The media do not need to write a story every time he goes to the shops - the time has come to write only about what he does on the field.'