Mario Balotelli is about to begin the latest chapter in his unique career with the news that the well-traveled Italian striker has signed for United Arab Emirates side Al Ittifaq on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
The Dubai-based side play in the second tier of UAE football and is rock bottom of the standings. It is also the 14th club of Balotelli’s career to date.
Balotelli had been a free agent since the summer and has not played competitive football since December 2024, following a somewhat underwhelming stint back in Italy with Genoa. The 35-year-old mustered just six league appearances for the club, all of which came off the bench.
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The oft-controversial forward has struggled to settle anywhere since leaving Liverpool in 2015 and has spent periods at various clubs in France, Italy, Turkey and Switzerland. However, he has never recaptured the mercurial form that saw him win the Premier League title with Manchester City, earn 36 caps for his country and even get nominated for the 2012 Ballon d’Or.
Though it is worth recalling why we all fell in love with him in the first place. That is, of course, his vast array of misguided mischief and antics.
The cars
Mario Balotelli And His Camouflage Bentley #mariobalotelli #ACMilan #Footballer #Bentley #footballercars pic.twitter.com/zTUo8pz1or
— Footballers Cars® (@FootballerCars) March 9, 2013
Balotelli has owned a succession of high-end supercars over the years, but perhaps the most memorable (other than the handful he has managed to crash and write off) is the astounding camouflaged Bentley he proudly unveiled while pulling up to City training in 2011.
The cold shoulder
Among the most famous goals of Balotelli’s career came for City during a 5-1 pummelling of Norwich City in 2011. The Italian added his side’s fourth goal of the rout with one of the most nonchalant finishes the Premier League has ever witnessed, nudging the ball over the line with a shrug of his shoulders.
The dart ‘prank’
In March 2011, City were forced to launch an internal investigation in a so-called “prank” that took place at their training complex after it emerged that the then-20-year-old Balotelli had been throwing darts out of an upstairs window in the general direction of youth team players.
Thankfully, nobody was hurt as a result.
The preseason trick shot
While it wasn’t the first (or last) time he would invoke the wrath of his manager, Balotelli got himself instantly substituted inside the first 30 minutes of a preseason friendly against LA Galaxy in 2011 when a botched trick shot enraged coach Roberto Mancini to the point that he decided to hook the striker on the spot.
The fireworks
‘Twas the eve of the Manchester derby and all through Balotelli’s house nothing was stirring — nothing except the impromptu fireworks display that the City striker and his friends decided to stage in his own bathroom for reasons unknown.
Roughly 24 hours before kickoff, the Italian striker had to be evacuated from his lodgings by the fire brigade after things got out of hand, leading to a stern ticking off and an enforced stint as the club’s ambassador for fireworks safety.
“The newspapers got the story wrong about me and the fire at my house,” Balotelli later said while promoting a firework safety campaign. “I didn’t set any fireworks off, it was a friend of mine. I didn’t know anything about it until I heard the shouting coming from the bathroom.
“Luckily, nobody was injured, and my friend apologised to me for the damage to my house. It was a really stupid thing for him to do, someone could have been really hurt, and I was really, really angry with him about it.
“They can be very dangerous if they are not used in the right way. People should follow the firework code.”
The T-shirt
Despite finding himself making headlines once again, Balotelli scored the first two goals in what proved to be a 6-1 demolition of rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford in the aforementioned derby fixture, leading to one of the most famous goal celebrations in Premier League history.
“Why always me?”, indeed.
The pet pig
What do you get the man who has everything? Why a pet micro pig, of course — and that is precisely what Balotelli announced he had taken delivery of in 2014 when an adorable little oinker by the name of Super came into his life.
The statue
7 years ago, we were all at the mercy of Mario Balotelli’s epic goal celebration in the Euro semifinals. pic.twitter.com/JWVgsDQlcV
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 28, 2019
With a pig running loose about the house, Balotelli obviously felt the need to further feather his nest with a large bronze statue of himself.
According to Brescia-based artist Livio Scarpella, the striker commissioned an effigy of himself in full “Power Flex” mode — a nod to the iconic shirtless goal celebration he hit after scoring for Italy against Germany in the semifinals of Euro 2012.
“I received the commission, but have never actually met Balotelli, so I am working from photographs,” Scarpella said. “I presented various sketches, but Mario wanted to be immortalised in the pose after the goal: muscles in evidence and an expression to challenge the opponents.
Unfortunately it would appear that the statue never materialised, so we can only imagine how tasteful and subtle it might have been.
The selfie celebration
Mario Balotelli’s latest goal celebration is something else! 😂 pic.twitter.com/uxgIJVS7dB
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 4, 2019
No stranger to a goal celebration, Balotelli had his third viral smash hit in 2019 when he scored for Marseille against Saint-Étienne and then proceeded to retrieve a mobile phone from behind the goal and mark the occasion with a group selfie.
The pasta incident
After departing Liverpool under something of a cloud, Balotelli got off to a flying start with Nice by scoring a raft of goals in Ligue 1. However, while his form improved drastically, tales of his previous antics continued to surface.
In 2016, Balotelli’s former Italy U21 teammate Salvatore Bocchetti claimed that the striker tried to start a food fight during a meal with the squad.
“One day were were eating in the dining room with the rest of the squad,” the then-Spartak Moscow defender told Russian television show Kul’t Tura. “Balotelli arrived and he just throw a plate of pasta into the face of Marco Motta!
“He’s a good player but he’s got no head! He’s crazy! He’s got no brain.”
The Puskas nomination
As well as his often overlooked Ballon d’Or nod in 2012, it is also worth remembering that Balotelli was also shortlisted for the Puskas Award thanks to the extraordinary rabona goal he scored for Adana Demirspor in 2022.
Balotelli’s fancy effort eventually finished fourth in the running with Polish amputee player Marcin Oleksy winning the 2022 Puskas Award for his incredible volley.
The fireworks (Part II)
Mario Balotelli tossing mini fireworks in the Adana Demirspor locker room 😂🧨pic.twitter.com/jR4nE4pcHd
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) March 6, 2024
Having obviously failed to heed the lessons of 2011, Balotelli undermined his position as City’s chief firework safety officer when he was filmed throwing lit firecrackers around in the Adana Demirspor dressing room.
The haircuts
From fluffy tufts to high-rise mohawks, Balotelli has worn many weird and wonderful coifs but perhaps the most elaborate of them all came in 2019 when the Italian unveiled a new tinted warrior braid arrangement which he accessorized with a cluster of dainty silver earrings.