Mario Balotelli has been enduring a miserable time both on and off the pitch…
Why always him? Unable to buy a goal on the pitch, unable to stop making headlines off it – Mario Balotelli to Liverpool might just go down as one of the worst gambles in footballing history.
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Liverpool fans were cautiously optimistic when Brendan Rodgers paid AC Milan £16.5m to sign the controversial Italian forward in the summer transfer window… but that optimism has long since been forgotten.
After the latest media storm surrounding his actions following Monday night’s FA Cup match with AFC Wimbledon, we could down Balotelli’s eight biggest controversies since moving to Anfield:
8) Jonjo Shelvey Clash
These two could probably start a fight in an empty room, so putting them in close proximity was always likely to cause trouble. According to the Daily Mail, he Italian and the Englishman squared up, pointed, poked and had what appeared to be harsh words with each other on the pitch, and met again at the end of game – a League Cup tie in October.
7) Fanny Neguesha break-up
Around the same time his move to Liverpool was confirmed, Balotelli ditched fiancee Fanny Neguesha after a string of high-profile rows. Reports in the Daily Star revealed that Fanny was no longer warning her £100,000 ring, as the pair left each other behind, and Balotelli began boasting to friends that he was already targeting a new conquest.
6) Sleeping with that hairdresser
It did not take him long to approach hairdresser Emma Dalton online before inviting her to a party at his luxury rented home, according to reports in the Daily Mirror. Apparently, while they were having sex the £110,000-a-week Italian told her: “This is nice. It helps my football.”
5) Instagram flirting
More recently, Balotelli’s conversation with another young Instragram user was flagged up by the boyfriend of the lady in question, who saw the funny side calling it ‘that awkward moment when Balotelli tries to steal your girlfriend’. Whether the conversation was genuine is yet to be confirmed, but it was still picked up by Eurosport among others.
4) Half-time shirt swap
Balotelli landed himself in hot water with manager Brendan Rodgers in October, after swapping shirts with Real Madrid defender Pepe at half-time in the Reds’ 3-0 Champions League loss at Anfield. Balotelli was substituted at the interval, with his team already trailing by the three goals. “It is not something I stand for,” Rodgers said. “If you want to do that, do it at the end of the game. It is something I will deal with on Thursday.”
3) Man United LOL & Racial abuse on social media
He was always asking for trouble wasn’t he, but no one could have guessed the backlash Balotelli would receive for simply posting the message: ‘Man United… LOL’, during the closing stages of Manchester United’s 5-3 defeat by Leicester City earlier in the season. The Italian receive hideous racist abuse, which forced a police investigation. A number of accounts that sent the abuse were quickly closed down.
2) Fallout with fitness coach
Conor McNamara reckons he saw an altercation between Mario Balotelli and a Liverpool fitness coach following the FA Cup 3rd Round victory over AFC Wimbledon on Monday evening. The full story came via Empire of the Kop.
1) ‘Super Mario’ social media post
Mario Balotelli received a one-match ban and a £25,000 fine after admitting to breaching FA rules regarding a post on Instagram. According to reports on Talk Sport, the Italian accepted the charge of breaching the aggrevating rule E3 relating to references of ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality or religion or belief, after his posting of an image of computer game character Super Mario on the social media site.
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