Barcelona lead the way in 2015 with Europe's deadliest attack

Mario Balotelli would not be judged as harshly if he was white, according to his agent Mino Raiola, who insists racism remains a major problem in Italian football.

The striker, who is on loan at AC Milan from Liverpool but has not featured since September due to a groin injury, has received criticism throughout his career due to a percieved lack of discipline and inconsistency.

But Raiola feels Balotelli's treatment in his homeland is due to the colour of his skin, telling Tuttosport: "People judge Mario too much. He lives in a country that is not ready to have such a strong black player.

Barcelona set a new record for goals in a calendar year by a Spanish team after hammering Real Betis on Wednesday night - and they have also finished 2015 as the most prolific outfit across Europe's top five leagues.

The Catalan club, led by their ferocious 'MSN' attack, notched an incredible 109 times in La Liga across the last year, giving them a goals per game rate of 2.86 (a figure no side in England, Spain, Italy, Germany or France can match).

PSG were a not-so-close second, still 0.16 goals per game behind Barca, while Manchester City were the highest-placed Premier League side, with their 2.07 ratio out-stripping that of current table-toppers Arsenal (1.84).

Unsurprisingly, Barcelona also top the charts for goal difference per game in 2015, with Bayern Munich this time taking up second spot, while Borussia Dortmund sneak into the top five after a stunning year under first Jurgen Klopp and then Thomas Tuchel.