Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has been named as the most-abused footballer on social media.

A study by anti-bullying group Kick It Out suggests that the Italy international received more than 8,000 abusive messages online between August 2014 and March 2015.

More than half of the offending messages were deemed "racist".

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck was second on the list with 1,700 abusive posts, followed by Balotelli's Liverpool teammate Daniel Sturridge on 1,600.

Balotelli is no stranger to social media controversy, having been fined and banned for one match in December for an Instagram post that contained "anti-Semitic language".

He later removed the post and issued an apology.