Mario Balotelli's Top Ten Moments: The best of Balo's stay in Blighty

Mario Balotelli is soon to leave these shores for Milan

With the news that Mario Balotelli may be leaving our shores to return to Italy after a two-and-a-half-year stint in the Premier League, Luke Moore takes a look back over his most memorable moments.

1. Why Always Me?

After opening the scoring against Manchester United at Old Trafford during City's title-winning season, Super Mario pulled his shirt over his head to reveal a t-shirt asking 'Why Always Me?' in reference to the heavy media attention he was receiving. He went on to score another in a 1-6 drubbing of United but it's the celebration that has lived long in the memory.

2. Setting his own house on fire

There are some things that happen accidentally and are more a case of misfortune than genuine clumsiness, and then there is setting your own house on fire because you were letting off fireworks indoors. At school, we were shown plenty of firework safety videos and not one of them included the tip 'Don't let them off inside your own house', presumably because that was a given. No-one would actually be that stupid. Enter Balotelli, who later that weekend scored two goals against Manchester United in the aforementioned game and seemed remarkably unfazed by the incident. He subsequently tried to make up for his error by fronting a fire safety awareness campaign which he himself clearly should have just watched in the first place. 

3. That shopping trip

Sent out on a fairly routine mission to buy an iron for his mother, our hero returned empty-handed after failing to secure the item. So far, so ordinary. What wasn't ordinary however was the van that turned up later delivering a table-tennis table, a Scalextric, a giant trampoline and two Vespas. 

We can only imagine the conversation in the Balotelli household shortly afterwards: 

'Have you ironed that shirt yet?'
'Er, sort of.' 
'What's taking you so long?'
'This table tennis bat is rubbish!'

But in Italian, obviously.

4. That Euro 2012 semi-final

Among all the lurid details of his off-field antics, Balotelli's destruction of a strong Germany side in the semi-final of Euro 2012 was a potent reminder of his undoubted talent. His second was a sublime effort of great power and precision as he rifled the ball past Manuel Neuer who could do nothing but sink to his knees in dejection. Mario went on to be joint top-scorer in the tournament and reminded us all that he is indeed a footballer of some eminence.

5. That training ground bust-up

Unfortunately, a public footpath runs through Man City's training ground and provides a safe haven for paparazzi who want to grab a photo of Roberto Mancini's charges playing keep ball of a Tuesday morning. Or in Mario's case, fighting with the manager. In scenes not observed since Joey Barton left the club, Mancini and Balotelli went at it, toe to toe, stripped to the waist, to the death. 

Well, ok, they just grabbed each other for a bit. Didn't stop the red tops going mad though, did it?

6. Those hats and haircuts

Whatever one thinks of Balotelli in a footballing sense, sartorially it's hard to deny he regularly tests the eye. Whether it's a hat strangely reminiscent of the penguin in The Wrong Trousers, a bleached blond mohican or a multi-coloured dyed effort with the number 17 printed in it, it's never boring. 

7. That backheel against LA Galaxy

In a move that sent the old guard on the punditry sofa absolutely apoplectic with rage, our intrepid hero once, when through on goal against LA Galaxy in a friendly, had the temerity to try a backheel instead of just slotting the ball into the net. While the rest of the football-watching public didn't actually care (it was only a friendly after all), Mark Lawrenson announced him in the 'last chance saloon'. And if there's one place you don't want Mario Balotelli, it's a saloon. They are traditionally very unsafe places.

8. That press conference

When then 36-year-old Andrea Stramaccioni was unveiled as the manager to replace Claudio Ranieri at Inter, most people were pleased for him. He'd steered the youth team to a successful NextGen Series campaign and was a promising young coach. Balo decided he was not only pleased for him however, he was REALLY pleased. So he went and gatecrashed the press conference itself. Despite playing for a team based 750 miles away. An act that Balotelli probably thought constituted normal behaviour.

9. That camouflage car

By Mario's standards, this isn't even that surprising. The only question we have is: When he's parked it somewhere, how does he find it again?

10. That bib

Before a Europa League game against Dynamo Kiev, Mario was unable to don a bib and needed help from the teach...sorry coach to get it over his head. This is a professional footballer at the top of his game who relies on top-notch coordination to ply his trade. It beggars belief. Mario tried to save face by getting angry with the bib itself, which only served to make him look more silly. Mario, it's a bib, it doesn't have sentience. This is YOUR fault.