Richards recalls Balotelli chasing him round his own house with lit fireworks

Any player who has ever played alongside Mario Balotelli will have a story to tell about the striker – and each one is normally crazier than the last.

From dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out money in the centre of Manchester, to popping out to get an iron for his mother and coming back with a lorryload of toys instead, he really is the definition of a footballing maverick.

We've all heard the story of him setting fireworks off in his own bathroom, resulting in a 1am visit from the fire services on the eve of the Manchester derby.

That day Balotelli bagged a brace in a thumping 6-1 win, and celebrated by revealing the t-shirt slogan 'Why Always Me?' underneath his City shirt.

And it seems that wasn't his only brush with pyrotechnics, as former teammate Micah Richards recalled.when discussing the Premier League's greatest cult heroes on BBC's Match of the Day Top 10 podcast.

'He's brilliant, I'm always reluctant to tell stories about him because he's still playing. But the firework story – he set off the firework and burnt down his own house – but that wasn't the only time he had done it," Richards said.

"He came to do it at my house and chased me around my house with fireworks which were lit. I couldn't believe it – it sounds ridiculous.

"He was crazy in a good way – he was only 18 when he came to Man City, he was just messing around."

Balotelli spent two-and-a-half years at City – one of the longer spells he has remained at one club, in what has since become a journeyman-like career.

The notorious bad boy has struggled to feel his once promising potential with failed stints at AC Milan and Liverpool, among others, but is still regarded a legend around the Etihad for his role in their last-gasp title triumph in 2012.

"He was brilliant to have around the squad – a cult hero not just for the nonsense he did off the field but on it as well," Richards added. "The only assist he got was that one for Sergio Aguero in the Queens Park Rangers title-winning game, he scored two goals in the 6-1 against Man United and the fans now love him.

"The best thing about him is he's a lovely guy, he's not arrogant or how the papers try to perceive him, he's just a bit mad."

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