Mario Balotelli’s 6 wildest moments as maverick striker joins latest club
Former Manchester City striker, Mario Balotelli, has long since been one of football most fascinating characters – from his mercurial talent on the pitch to his antics off it.
He was picked out as a future star at a young age, and he has played at the very top of the game from Premier League deciders to European Championship finals.
However, he never quite hit the heights his early career once promised, and he was recently in Italy's second tier.
And following his move to Adana Demirspor, in Turkey, Daily Star Sport looks at his top six wildest moments during his footballing career.
6 – Backheel miss
Balotelli and, current Italy manager, Roberto Mancini had a love-hate relationship; the pair even once fought in training when a disagreement turned physical.
And tensions were raised to a similar level during a pre-season friendly in 2011 against LA Galaxy stateside.
After receiving a through ball from David Silva, leaving Balotelli one-on-one, he promptly spun around and attempted to backheel the ball into the net – only to miss the target.
The stadium erupted in boos, Edin Dzeko looked dumbfounded next to him, and he was quickly subbed by Mancini with not even half an hour on the clock.
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5 – Birth of a meme
Fresh off the back of Premier League success with Manchester City, when he provided his only assist in Manchester for Sergio Aguero's last-gasp winner, Balotelli had an excellent Euro 2012.
A Balotelli inspired Azzurri – with a bit of help from Pirlo's panenka against England – reached the final of Euro 2012 in Kiev.
However, Balotelli's goal against Germany – in the semi-final – gave the internet a new meme with his now-iconic celebration.
The topless snap of Balotelli had jackhammers, lightsabers, and even Zinedine Zidane head-butting the Italian forward photoshopped in.
4 – The Milan divide
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There are very few players that dare to cross the divide between bitter rivalries: Luis Figo and Ronaldo bridged the El Classico divide, whilst Gabriel Batistuta famously moved between River Plate and Boca Juniors.
Balotelli managed it in Italy, and he emerged through the Inter Milan youth system, however, he spent most of his career at rivals AC Milan.
However, even at Inter, Balotelli was causing controversy when he was pictured holding a Milan flag on a night out.
And when he returned to the city, this time in the red half, in his first press conference he confirmed he'd celebrate against his old side.
3 – Crashing his car
When cruising around Manchester, in 2012, Balotelli crashed his £140,000 Bentley near Manchester city centre – all parties were unharmed.
However, when police searched the Italian's car, they found £5,000 in cash; when pressed about the money, Balotelli said: "Because I'm rich."
This is just one of several incidents that occurred off the pitch in Manchester.
He once visited a women's prison because he wanted to see what it was like, and Balotelli confronted a school bully when he found a school kid outside of City's training ground.
2 – Move to Monza
In the most underrated moment on this list, Balotelli's move to Serie B's AC Monza – who are owned by Silvio Berlusconi – was quite bizarre.
After being released by his hometown side of Brescia, Balotelli was handed a whopping contract by the Serie B outfit, who also had Kevin-Prince Boateng on their books.
He scored with his first touch on his debut, but injuries kept him on the sidelines, and Berlusconi publicly called him out for poor performances.
Monza failed in their bid for Serie A, and Balotelli left, splitting up Balotelli and Berlusconi, two of Italian footballs most controversial figures.
1 – Why Always Me?
It's one of the most iconic Premier League celebrations; after Balotelli turned the ball home to give City the lead at Old Trafford, he pulled up his top to reveal the words: "Why Always Me?"
The Friday before, Balotelli had set fireworks off in his bathroom, almost burning his house down, and the following morning he was the new face of firework safety.
City went onto destroy the Red Devils 6-1, and six months later the blue half of Manchester claimed their first Premier League title.
And Balotelli played his own part in that history-making moment.
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