Zlatan’s brace took him to 50 goals and saw him overtake Scen Rydell on 49, who amassed his total in just 43 games.

But that was in the 20s and 30s, an era in which the Swedes were known to hit cricket scores against the opponents of the day, so it feels like Zlatan’s 50 in 99 were harder earned.

And in true Zlatan style, he clinched the record with a slick golazo, slipping in a back-heel flick at the near post.

Balotelli confirmed to journalists in Italy on Thursday that he would be leaving the club he joined from Manchester City last year. “This is my last day in Milan, my last day at Milanello,” he said.

And Milan said on their website on Thursday afternoon that Balotelli had bid farewell to his team-mates before leaving training. “Mario Balotelli left Milanello’s sporting centre at 1.30pm (local time), after saying goodbye to his team-mates,” the club statement read.

“Before leaving the premises, the striker has said goodbye to members of Milan’s press office.”

Liverpool have become increasingly desperate to sign a proven international striker following the sale of Luis Suarez earlier this summer, prompting manager Brendan Rodgers to turn to a player he said he would not sign earlier this month.

Balotelli enjoyed a controversial first spell in the Premier League with City, his time there blighted by many notorious incidents.

However, he did win the league title and FA, to go with the three Serie A championships he had previously won with Internazionale.

He also scored the winning goal for Italy against England in both teams’ opening games at this year’s World Cup.

If the deal goes through in time Balotelli could potentially even make his debut for Liverpool at Manchester City on Monday.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men are still clearly troubled by the injury to their biggest star which has cast a big shadow over their World Cup semi final with Germany on Tuesday night.

Brazil captain Thiago Silva, banned for the semi final after being booked, also called Colombia’s Juan Zuniga a “coward” for the challenge which left Neymar with a broken bone in his back which has ruled him out for up to six weeks.

Silva also said Brazil team psychiatrist Regina Brandao has spoken to members of the squad to help them try and prepare mentally after losing their talisman.

“We just talk about a lot of things – Neymar being one of them – but she emphasised we all have to feel at ease. Silva said

“Neymar has already done what he had to do. Now it’s up to the other 22 to go out there and do everything for victory. He wanted to be here.

“And now, a coward’s tackle – some people say it was normal, but I don’t think it was… That kind of challenge isn’t done. You can’t get the ball from someone by putting your knee into a player’s back, it’s not normal. But there you are.”

Skipper Silva will miss the semi-final with David Luiz taking the armband.

Scolari must decide whether to bring in Willian for the injured Neymar or go more defensive with three midfielders Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho and Fernandinho.

But the Brazil boss insisted that however he approaches the game that he is convinced Brazil can reach the final.

Scolari said: “If I play with three defensive midfielders, that’s one option. I will give the full-backs more freedom, obviously.

“If I have two players in there, the full-backs will have less freedom but I might be able to add something that imposes a bit more damage on Germany. Those are my options.

“We’ve been working a lot to overcome obstacles since the beginning. We had to overcome problems and weaknesses to get to where we wanted, to get through the group and the round of 16 and so forth. We continue to do that.

“We have to get through the semi-final to get to where we want to be. Tomorrow, though, we’ll be without Neymar: one of our references and one of the best players in the world.

“But we have another 22 players who have been handpicked and capped because we know they are special. We were speaking about being on the bench yesterday. Why is it special? To provide a special moment. To go on to the pitch to make an impact, that’s special.

“Those guys who come on are special. They can make a big difference. This is what we are conveying to our players. We will miss Neymar, but we have a team who can overcome the difficulties and go on into the next round.

“We’ll play for us, for Neymar, but above all we’ll go after the goal the group has had since the beginning: to qualify for the final.”

The Chelsea youngster returned from World Cup duty with Nigeria this week and impressed the Middlesbrough boss during his four appearances in Brazil.

“I like Kenneth not because of what he has done at the World Cup, I like him because he’s a very good guy and very good player,” Karanka said.

Omeruo made 14 appearances for Middlesbrough last season and Karanka would like to see the defender return to the Riverside Stadium.

“He played those games in a very good way. I was in contact with him during the World Cup, he wants to join us, Chelsea want to send us the player on loan and we would like to have him back with us again.”

Meanwhile Karanka has not given up on signing Real Betis right-back Juanfran, who is mulling over a potential move to the north-east.

Karanka confirmed the player is weighing up his options and told the Gazette: “The first thing that I want from the players who join us is that they want to join us.

German magazine Der Spiegel claimed Wilson Raj Perumal correctly forecast the outcome of the Group A game.

Perumal, a Singapore businessman, said he had made an “an informal assessment of the behaviour of the Cameroon team” after the game.

Der Spiegel insist his comments were made before kick-off.

Der Spiegel told the BBC: “We firmly stand by our assertion, that Mr Perumal wrote in a Facebook chat some hours before the World Cup match Croatia v Cameroon, that the result of the match will be a 4-0-victory for Croatia and that a player of Cameroon will get a red card in the first half.”

Perumal, who was jailed in Finland in 2011 for fixing games, disputes the timing of the conversation and apologised to the Cameroon Football Federation for any inadvertent offence caused.

Mario Madzukic celebrates after scoring against Cameroon

He said: “The Facebook chat with the Der Spiegel journalist took place a few days after the match. At no time did I suggest I had any way of corroborating or substantiating what was meant to be an educated guess based on my extensive match-fixing experience.”

Cameroon lost all their Group A games, including the 4-0 defeat by Croatia in which their midfielder Alex Song was sent off in the 40th minute.

The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), who work with betting regulators, operators and monitoring agencies to look at sport integrity, revealed there was “no observable suspicious betting on this match”.

Wilson Raj Perumal from Singapore is a convicted match-fixer

In a book published in April, Perumal claims he arranged for players from one team at the Beijing Olympics to ensure their side took the kick-off in two separate matches

The book also alleges Perumal influenced qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

ICSS director Chris Eaton said that since his arrest in 2011, Perumal has “gradually been giving accurate information on global match-fixing. He has also given a great deal of disinformation”.

But he said that the seriousness of the case meant it should receive “a swift, strong and, most importantly, an international and co-ordinated investigation”.

The allegations of “fraud” by “seven bad apples” are being investigated by the ethics committee of the Cameroon Football Federation.

World governing body Fifa did not comment on whether it was looking into the issue as football’s world governing body did not want to “compromise any possible investigations”.

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Bosnia went out of their first World Cup with a sense of injustice and the photo has increased the anger.

O’Leary drew fierce criticism for his decision to disallow Edin Dzeko’s early strike during Saturday’s Group F clash in Cuiaba.

Some neutral think he intentionally ignored what seem to be a foul on Emir Spahic in the build-up to Peter Odemwingie’s winning goal, which saw Bosnia exit the tournament.

Bosnians have now set up an online petition asking O’Leary to be fired and it already has over 23,000 signatures.

Apart from the call for O’Leary’s removal from the rest of the World Cup, the Bosnian fans also want the result to be changed to 1-1, meaning they are still in the tournament.

After the game, Manchester City striker Dzeko slammed the referee’s performance as “shameful”.

He said: “We should have won the game. But the referee was shameful.

“We are going home, we are sad because of that. But this referee should be going home, too.

“He changed the game. That’s why we lost. It was obviously a foul on our captain and before, when I scored the goal, it was never offside.”

Coach Joachim Low has already backed the 25-year-old midfielder to produced the goods “like he always has done” for Germany in Brazil, and Podolski has no doubts about Ozil’s worth for club and country.

“Mesut is a world-class player,” Podolski said at a press conference on Saturday. “Mesut has the quality and he’s going to give us a lot of pleasure. He is going to produce the goods in the months and years to come and people have just got to accept him the way he is. Just let the lad play football.”

‘’Mesut has the quality and he’s going to give us a lot of pleasure.’’

Ready for what Podolski, like Low, expects to be a true test of Germany’s mettle. The nation ranked second in the world faces the one ranked fourth with Low declaring it a “50/50” clash, but Podolski had a touch more optimism when he met the media on Saturday.

“Of course they have Cristiano Ronaldo, who is capable of deciding any game, but if we play the way we can, then we will leave the field triumphant,” he said. “If we don’t, then we’ve just got to hope that we manage to keep Ronaldo under control, or that he doesn’t have a good day.

“My aim is to get my hands on the trophy in the end. I don’t come to play for Germany just for the fun of it, and if anybody were to do that, then they would be better off just staying at home.”

With winger Marco Reus out injured, Podolski could replace him in the starting 11 and he said that he is more than ready to step in, if asked.

“Everybody has got to be on their toes and ready,” Podolski said. “I’m preparing myself as if I will be playing, and if I don’t, then at least I would still be ready.”

Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadrado showed some lovely skill outside of the Greek box before picking out Armero. His shot was poor, but Kostas Manolas failed to get enough of a boot on the clearance as goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis was forced to watch in agony as the ball crept agonisingly over the line.

Rodriguez added another when he swept a third goal into the net from Juan Cuadrado’s pass a minute into time added on, but the dancing was done for the day.

In a departure from their solidity in clasping Euro 2004 a decade ago, Greece were undone for a second time from a corner when James Rodriguez’s poor set-piece was flicked on by Abel Aguilar for Teofilo Gutierrez to convert from close range on 58 minutes.

Rodriguez added another when he swept a third goal into the net from Juan Cuadrado’s pass a minute into time added on, but the dancing was done for the day.

England boss Roy Hodgson has hinted heavily they plan to man mark Italy’s midfield kingpin in Manaus on Saturday, but Pirlo insisted that would be a waste of time.

Juventus veteran Pirlo, 35, worked alongside Daniele De Rossi and Marco Verratti in training as they look to rotate in midfield and call England’s bluff.

Pirlo said: “We tried this new solution with a midfielder in front of the defence and two directors further forward with more freedom.

“We like this option, it can give great results and we are working to improve every day.

“In truth it’s a system that involves rotation, as we go forward and at other times I’d come back into the more classic position.

“We aim to rotate the midfield positions to keep our opponents guessing. Any system is good as long as we play well.

“We can try many different approaches, but it is also down to how you interpret the role. Anyone who can play football can play with any other player, so there’s absolutely no problem of compatibility with Verratti.

“We know England are a great team who have improved a lot with new, young players coming in. They have good runners, but we know how to face them and have been studying England over the last few days.

“Italy have always had great games against England, as we have a different approach to the sport, so we’ll give our all in our own style.”

Pirlo also insisted that Italy have got enough strength in depth to win the World Cup while he also made a dramatic U-turn about his own future.

The influential midfielder , who dominated England when the two nations met in Euro 2012, has signed a new two-year contract at Juventus and hinted he could carry on playing for Italy:

“I am very happy to have renewed my contract for another two years with Juventus. I hope to spend the next two years the same way as the last three,” said Pirlo who has just won another Serie A title.

“It was my choice to continue with Juventus, as it is a successful club aiming to always improve and those are my objectives too.

“As I already said, I am still thinking of retiring after this World Cup, as I have a certain age and it’s only right to leave the field to the next generation coming through.

“It would be pointless to continue. If I am needed, then there’s no problem in coming back. If I come on international duty and don’t play, then I’d get angry! It’s perhaps better I stay home…”

Pirlo also claimed that Italy can make history in Brazil and said they should be inspired by playing in the country rather than intimidated by the heat of Manaus.

Pirlo added: “It is the dream of every player to be at a World Cup in Brazil, the nation of football. It’s not something that happens often, so we have the chance to make this a World Cup to be remembered for all our lives.

“Can Italy win the World Cup? Of course. When I play, it is solely to win. I am never just content with getting through the round. We have a competitive squad and will give our all to achieve this objective.

“We have what it takes to go far. The important thing is to believe, sacrifice ourselves, work hard and the results can arrive.

“It will be very hot in Manaus for us, just as it will be for England, so it’s not a problem for one team more than another. We are preparing well in terms of training, food and hydration, so those elements can help.

“Spain and Brazil are among the favourites, as they have all the potential to repeat their success, but we know the World Cup is always full of surprises.

“Spain are a very strong side with great players, it’s not as if we are just discovering that now.”

The veteran midfielder could become a free agent this summer but is set to pen a new two-year deal with the recently-crowned Serie A champions.

“More or less we have reached an agreement,” Pirlo said. “I hope the announcement will be made in the coming days.”

Pirlo, who was voted the 2012-13 Player of the Year in Serie A by his peers, has enjoyed another solid campaign with the Turin club.

The Italy international joined Juve from AC Milan in 2011 and has been a regular in Antonio Conte’s starting 11.

The 34-year-old, who is set to play for Italy at this summer’s World Cup, scored four goals in 29 league appearances to help Juve clinch their third straight Scudetto.

Meanwhile, Pirlo hopes Conte will remain at the club next season.

Conte has been linked with a move away from Turin this summer after three successful seasons in charge of the Old Lady.

“I hope Sunday’s game against Cagliari is not Conte’s last,” Pirlo said. “In three years he has taken us to win three league titles.”

Juve end the campaign this weekend needing just a point against Cagliari in Turin to become the first club in Italy to reach the 100-point mark.

“It’s an important achievement,” Pirlo said. “We have the opportunity to do so and we will not miss this chance.”