London - Liverpool and Italy striker Mario Balotelli has received more than 4 000 racist messages via social media this season, according to new research from British anti-discrimination body Kick It Out.
Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck and Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge have also been targeted with more than a thousand discriminatory messages.
In total, Kick it Out's research estimates there have been 134 000 discriminatory posts this season, and 39 000 of these directed towards Premier League players.