#NoMatterWhat - 5 incidents that prove Mario Balotelli is the most enigmatic football personality
Before Chelsea’s Diego Costa introduced himself to the English supporters and took centrestage with his on-field behaviour, it was the Italian striker Mario Balotelli who would often grab the newspaper headlines for all the wrong reasons.The most notable incident came during his time with Manchester City when he set fire to his house after letting off fireworks in the bathroom and luckily escaped unhurt. He’s gifted with immense talent and was deemed by many to become amongst the finest in Europe, a young starlet with huge potential, but it was something that he failed to capitalise on.Balotelli has shown some flashes of brilliance with his performances on the pitch. He has the ability to produce magic when you least expect him to and frankly speaking, he can even help you win games single-handedly. However, it all depends on his mood on the day.Bits of positivity in him have always been overshadowed by his on-pitch antics or off the field behaviour and controversies - that one moment of madness with the opposition’s defense or at times, with his very own teammates.His career has disappointingly been defined by the frequent shenanigans he has found himself involved in. The game’s most notorious renegade has a troubling off-field record.Throwing darts at youth players, wrecking £100,000 cars, amass over £10,000 worth of parking tickets, having his luxury Maserati impounded 27 times, trying to break into a women’s prison or setting off fireworks in his bathroom, life for Mario Balotelli is never dull.He is among the few enigmatic personalities left in football today. Let’s take a look at 5 headline-grabbing Balotelli incidents: -
#1 Altercation with Roberto Mancini
During his spell at Manchester City, the Italy international was known for winding up several of his teammates, including his infamous bust-ups with Aleksander Kolarov, Jerome Boateng, Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards on the training ground.
However, he delivered the knockout blow and entirely jeopardized his future with the club when he had a training-ground altercation with the boss Roberto Mancini. The club’s support staff had to intervene to separate the pair.
The coach had told off his player for a dangerous tackle made on Scott Sinclair, to which Balotelli reacted angrily and turned on him. The incident showed that the Italian striker doesn't ever back down and doesn't take kindly when told what to do.