The madness of Mario Balotelli strikes again

This week footballer Mario Balotelli has been getting himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons once again.

The 24-year-old Italian has a chequered past and is equally known for his antics off the field as those on the football pitch.

During his time at Manchester City he became something of a cult hero, attracting fans like former Oasis guitarist and City supporter Noel Gallagher.

He returned to England to play for Liverpool in August with his new employers rumoured to have expressed reservations about his behaviour away from his day job!

While visiting his mother in Manchester this week, Balotelli is rumoured to have become abusive towards a woman who stopped to take a picture of his Ferrari.

Police are looking into that matter as Balotelli once again finds himself on front page news for all the wrong reasons.

Balotelli is not one to shun the limelight. The 24-year-old has had a litany of off-field controversies that now threaten to overshadow his career 

 HotGossipItalia 

Mario shares his wealth

The striker’s wages are rumoured to be around £100,000 per week, so he certainly isn’t short of cash.

That said, his generosity of spirit sprang to light in some weird ways during his first stint in England.

He reportedly toured Manchester just before Christmas in 2011 handing out cash and gifts to strangers from his car, all while dressed as a blue Santa Claus. The gifts were understood to include sandwich makers and wads of cash.

After winning £25,000 at a casino, he handed £1,000 to a homeless man in the street.

Balotelli is indeed a keen gambler and may have already tried his hand online where he can again count on his lucky streak. Online casino bonuses are a big draw for any player and the selection games is just too good to resist. If Balotelli decides to gamble during his time at Anfield, the people of Liverpool may end up sampling his generous spirit!

Controversial Premier League Stars

• Eric Cantona – while at Man United, the Frenchman dived feet first into the crowd after receiving abuse from a Crystal Palace fan
• Paulo Di Canio – the fiery Italian known for his political views as much as his football pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground after being off against Sheffield Wednesday
• Luis Suarez – Balotelli’s predecessor at Liveprool, Suarez has a reptuation for biting opponents after committing the offence for a third time at the World Cup in Brazil

Balotelli’s behaviour ranges from generous spirit to schoolyard bully. He can as easily hand out a large sum of money to a homeless person as throw darts at young team players

 Calciomercato24 

The other side of Mario

His time at City was a catalogue of high-profile incidents and the club were again forced to discuss Balotelli’s disciplinary issues after the striker was reportedly caught throwing darts from a first-floor window. It was understood that he lobbed the missiles in the direction of young team players “because he was bored”.

As he proved this week, Mario does not feel the need to confine his misdemeanours to his job on the football field.

When Liverpool played Real Madrid in their big Champions League tie on Wednesday, the front man gave an uninspiring first-half display as Cristiano Ronaldo led Madrid to a 3-0 lead.

Going off at half time, Balotelli decided to swap shirts with Portuguese defender Pepe who had marked him in the first half. The gesture was met with derision both by Liverpool fans and his manager Brendan Rodgers – who substituted the player just moments later.

During a pre-season tour of America with City, the striker was taken off in disgrace by manager Roberto Mancini after he “disrespected” the fans and opposition with a needless backheel miss against LA Galaxy.

He was immediately substituted while attempting to protest his innocence before storming down the tunnel in a rage.