"Are you ready?" - Mario Balotelli reminds Man City of controversial incident before Manchester United derby by stocking fireworks for New Year’s Eve

Mario Balotelli has taken to social media to celebrate New Year’s Eve by reminiscing an old incident during his time at Manchester City. The former City man took to Instagram story to post a picture of himself lying on several boxes of fireworks.

While Balotelli displayed flashes of brilliance during his time at the Etihad, they were vastly overshadowed by his off-field shenanigans. In 2011, he became embroiled in a scandal.

A friend of the player had reportedly set off dozens of fireworks in his bathroom, resulting in an inferno that caused the fire brigade to be called. The incident took place on the eve of a Manchester derby in which Manchester City went on to beat Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford.

Mario Balotelli scored twice, and it was in that match that he had introduced his famous ‘Why Always Me?' celebration, in reference to off-the-field stories being run about him at the time.

While Balotelli’s day of making the headlines may have been behind him, the striker couldn't help but reflect on one of his headline-grabbing actions. He posted a picture of himself on Instagram along with boxes of fireworks and tagged his former side with the caption

"Are you ready?".

Mario Balotelli

Balotelli now plies his trade with Serie A side Genoa. He's yet to score in six appearances. Apart from City, he also played for Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and a host of other clubs across Europe.

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How Mario Balotelli fared at Manchester City

Mario Balotelli began his career with Serie C side Lumezzane. From there, he moved to Inter Milan and Manchester City in 2010 for a reported fee of €20 million.

The player’s disciplinary issues began during his years at Inter, which continued at the Etihad. Balotelli’s move to City saw him reunite with Roberto Mancini, his former head coach at Inter.

He made his debut for City as a substitute, scoring the winner in their 1-0 win in a Europa League qualifying match against Romanian side Timisoara in August 2010. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute on October 24 in a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal. In the same month, he made his PL debut start in a 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Mario Balotelli won the Golden Boy award in 2010, beating Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere and reportedly took a swipe at the Englishman after winning the award. His debut season at the Etihad ended with silverware. He was instrumental in City’s 1-0 win over Stoke City in the 2011 FA Cup final, where he was named the man of the match.

In the next season, Balotelli played a crucial role in giving City their first league title since 1968. The Italian was a late substitute in the title-deciding match against Queens Park Rangers. He provided the assist to Sergio Aguero, who scored in the 94th minute to give City a dramatic 3-2 victory.

Balotelli left City in 2013 after he opened legal proceedings against the club. The Genoa man took the decision after City had fined him two weeks wages for his disciplinary actions. In Balotelli’s two and a half years at the Etihad, he scored 30 goals and provided six assists in 80 appearances across competitions.