As Mario Balotelli jets off to Italy ahead of his move to AC Milan, many an English football fan will have exhaled a sigh of sadness, as the ruler of ruckuses bids farewell to the Premier League.
Since arriving at Manchester City from Inter Milan in 2010, the Italian has made the headlines time after time after time for his rash, naughty and frankly quite outrageous behaviour.
The 22-year-old may be going, but his antics will stay with us for as long as the eye can see.
TibsNews takes a look at ten of the best Mario Balotelli moments.
10 – Shopping List
When in need of some electrical appliances, Mrs. Balotelli may now think twice before sending her son off to Argos. Her request: a new iron. The result: a lorry full of good of everything from a quad bike, to a trampoline, to a Scalextric set. Everything…but an iron.
9 – High Five
After City famously beat their arch enemies Manchester United 6-1, in a game that can only be described as a mauling, Mr Balotelli decided to go around the city of Manchester in his car to high five whoever he saw wearing a Man City top.
8 – Rooney! Rooney!
Fantastically lairy Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli managed to get Wayne Rooney‘s former £1,200-a-night hooker Jenny Thompson banned from a posh restaurant after the group were involved in a playground-level slanging match which ended in Super Mario offering one of her friends out for a fight. The 20-year-old reportedly shouted chants of ‘Rooney!, Rooney!’ after spotting Thompson returning from the toilets, before cheerily flicking a middle finger at her mates.
7 – Grass allergy
Balotelli failed to emerge for the second half of a Europa League game in freezing Kiev last season after suffering an allergic reaction to the grass. Some commentators sneered that he simply didn’t fancy the minus-6 temperatures, but Balotelli did emerge at the airport with obvious swelling to his face, lips and tongue, as well as sores on his legs.
6 – Church Antics
On Christmas Eve Balotelli turned up at a pub in Manchester, he then put a £1,000 tab behind the bar so the locals could help themselves to drinks all paid by the outlandish centre-forward. After he left the pub, he attended midnight mass at a church and added to his charitable action from earlier by whacking £250 in the collection tin. Nice bloke.
5 – “Can I say that?”
Mario’s work in the FA Cup final against Stoke was exemplary, but he saved his best for the post-match TV interview. Asked if that had been his best game of the season, he replied with the words, “my whole season was sh*t. Can I say that?” Er, no.
4 – Darts at training ground
Mario’s propensity to get himself into trouble found himself at the receiving end of a £100’000 fine – a week’s wages – when he decided to entertain himself by throwing darts at youth team players. Thankfully, Mario assured the club, it was always his intention to purposefully miss them.
3- Porno
Balotelli and his girlfriend Raffaella Fico were out shopping when Mario decided to flick through the magazines section. Fico turned her back and driven by curiosity the forward reached for the top-shelf, grabbed a porn mag and like most men would do flicked through it before hiding it as the missus looked back obliviously. Balotelli’s response? An innocent, child-like laugh!
2- Homeless handout
After winning £25,000 in a casino, Balotelli handed a homeless man £1,000 in cash. The reason? Because the striker liked his ginger dreadlocks and beard.
1- Bibotelli
For most individuals, putting on a bib would be quite straightforward yet for Balotelli, even with the aid of an assistant, this became a Herculean task. More so when, after an elongated struggle, he decides to swap his bib for a more pleasingly coloured one.
Matt Cotton
@FindingCotton
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