Mario Balotelli already wreaking havoc at Sion
FT Desk
- 16 Sept 2022 16:09 BST
- 3 min read
"Why always me?" Mario Balotelli once wore under his jersey when at Manchester City. The former Italy striker has bounced from pillar to post since, with Swiss side Sion the latest to endure his antics.
Balotelli's talent has never been in question, the striker plundering 14 goals in 36 Italy caps and winning league titles in Italy and England with Inter Milan and Man City respectively.
But his application has often led employers and fans alike scratching their heads and at 32, a player who also counts Liverpool and AC Milan on his playing CV has since bounced around at Nice, Marseille, Brescia, Monza, Adana Demirsport and now Sion.
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Balotelli has played in two Swiss Super League games since arriving from Turkey in August, but he has already been pictured going out on the town when he was supposedly struggling with illness.
According to reports in Switzerland, Balotelli hasn't appeared for training this week, with Sion set to take on Rapperswil in the Swiss Cup on Saturday.
Tramezzani: 'Balotelli is sick'
"Given the importance of this match and out of respect for this competition and for our opponent, I will field the best possible XI," insisted coach Paolo Tramezzani.
"Some players could still miss the meeting, like Mario Balotelli, who is sick."
Das fängt ja gut an 🥳 Sion-Star Mario #Balotelli torkelt durch Lausanne… 🍻 https://t.co/NuuzLuKnyb pic.twitter.com/Cwp5RyikIf
— Nau (@nau_live) September 13, 2022
But the video evidence above shows clearly that if Balotelli is feeling worse for wear, it is of his own doing.
Balotelli has a rich history of breaching club - and sometimes even legal - protocol. Sidelined with a knee injury in October 2010, he drove into a women's prison to "have a look around."
It was also confirmed that he threw a dart at a youth team player during Man City training in 2011, as well as running up £10,000/€11,400 in parking fines in Manchester's city centre.
