Mario Balotelli keeps in touch with his dog via FaceTime.
''Family and friends will now be its guardians until Mario returns, but he insists on regular FaceTime chats so Lucky still knows he cares.''
The soccer star - who is currently living in Liverpool in North West England while playing for Liverpool Football Club - left his black Labrador Lucky behind in Milan, Italy after completing his transfer last month.
Although Mario brought Lucky with him for his last spell in the UK when he played for Manchester City Football Club, he didn't want to put his beloved pet through the stress of quarantine again so has been speaking to him using the iPhone video chat service.
A source told The Sun newspaper: ''Lucy is Mario's pride and joy. He was gutted to leave the dog in Italy, but he just didn't want to put him through quarantine again.
''Family and friends will now be its guardians until Mario returns, but he insists on regular FaceTime chats so Lucky still knows he cares.''