El-Hadji Diouf has claimed that Steven Gerrard made life difficult for Mario Balotelli at Liverpool.

Balotelli joined Nice in the summer transfer window after a disappointing two-year spell at Anfield.

The Italian striker scored just four goals in all competitions following his move to Liverpool from AC Milan for £16m in 2014.

Diouf, who has previously criticised Gerrard, has blamed the midfielder, who now plays for Los Angeles Galaxy, for Balotelli's poor spell on Merseyside.

"I told him not to go to Liverpool," Diouf told L'Equipe. "It wasn't made for him, that things couldn't go well with Gerrard, who has never had his talent and then said negative things about him.

"Gerrard is a jealous man who doesn't like men of character. Mario is a good person that you should listen to. He's not a guy who's going to cause problems in the dressing room.

"There are a lot of things that have been made up about him. People tell tales about him, but they're often a load of rubbish."

Balotelli was recently quoted as saying that joining Liverpool was the "worst mistake" of his life.