#NoMatterWhat - 5 incidents that prove Mario Balotelli is the most enigmatic football personality

Before Chelsea’s Diego Costa introduced himself to the English supporters and took centrestage with his on-field behaviour, it was the Italian striker Mario Balotelli who would often grab the newspaper headlines for all the wrong reasons.The most notable incident came during his time with Manchester City when he set fire to his house after letting off fireworks in the bathroom and luckily escaped unhurt. He’s gifted with immense talent and was deemed by many to become amongst the finest in Europe, a young starlet with huge potential, but it was something that he failed to capitalise on.Balotelli has shown some flashes of brilliance with his performances on the pitch. He has the ability to produce magic when you least expect him to and frankly speaking, he can even help you win games single-handedly. However, it all depends on his mood on the day.Bits of positivity in him have always been overshadowed by his on-pitch antics or off the field behaviour and controversies - that one moment of madness with the opposition’s defense or at times, with his very own teammates.His career has disappointingly been defined by the frequent shenanigans he has found himself involved in. The game’s most notorious renegade has a troubling off-field record.Throwing darts at youth players, wrecking £100,000 cars, amass over £10,000 worth of parking tickets, having his luxury Maserati impounded 27 times, trying to break into a women’s prison or setting off fireworks in his bathroom, life for Mario Balotelli is never dull.He is among the few enigmatic personalities left in football today. Let’s take a look at 5 headline-grabbing Balotelli incidents: -

#1 Altercation with Roberto Mancini

His altercation with Mancini was the beginning of the end for Balotelli at Manchester City

During his spell at Manchester City, the Italy international was known for winding up several of his teammates, including his infamous bust-ups with Aleksander Kolarov, Jerome Boateng, Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards on the training ground.

However, he delivered the knockout blow and entirely jeopardized his future with the club when he had a training-ground altercation with the boss Roberto Mancini. The club’s support staff had to intervene to separate the pair.

The coach had told off his player for a dangerous tackle made on Scott Sinclair, to which Balotelli reacted angrily and turned on him. The incident showed that the Italian striker doesn't ever back down and doesn't take kindly when told what to do.

#2 Accusations of glamourising the mafia

Balotelli was attracted towwards the mafia but didn't have any links with them

Back in 2011, the Liverpool loanee was seen wandering around a crime-ridden Italian inner city estate called Scampia ‘as though it was Disney World’. The game’s ‘bad boy’ was accompanied by two Mafia bosses, Salvatore Silvestri and Biagio Esposito.

Balotelli was immediately accused of glamourising the mafia. However, his agent later explained that his client only wanted to satisfy his curiosity but he was then summoned to a high-profile legal case in Italy.

This was because he said he had once happened to stand ‘about 10 meters from a table which contained bags of drugs on it’, and claimed ignorance about Silvestri and Esposito’s Camorra links.

#3 Setting his own house on fire during a fireworks prank

Lighting fireworks inside his house wasn't the Italian striker's best idea

So how did Balotelli prepare ahead of the Manchester derby? Well, the Italian striker along with his notorious friends wrecked the first-floor bathroom and a room directly below his rented £3 million luxury home in Manchester during a ‘firework prank’, just 36 hours before his team’s most important game of the season against rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Luckily for Mario, ten firefighters tackled the blaze at the house and he along with his friends managed to escape unhurt. However, the property sustained serious fire and smoke damage.

What’s ironic about this whole incident is that the 2010 European Golden Boy winner went on to score in the derby match and he celebrated his goal with a T-shirt making a humorous reference to his house fire and bad boy reputation.

And two days later, he was named the ambassador for the club’s fireworks safety campaign. Well-played Super Mario.

#4 Mario Balotelli is rich and he knows it

Mario Balotelli is clearly aware of his financial luxuries as a footballer

In September 2010, just a few months after completing a move to Manchester City for £24 million from Inter Milan, the Italian star was at the wheel of his Audi R8 when it collided with a black BMW in Chester Road, Hulme.

Balotelli was uninjured in the crash but was breathalyzed in accordance with standard practice. The cops then discovered £5,000 cash on the passenger’s seat while they were checking for any drugs or alcohol in his possession.

When interrogated as to why he was carrying such a huge sum of money, Balotelli simply replied – “Because I’m rich!” Simple enough.

#5 Getting fined for throwing darts at youth players

Balotelli was fined for throwing darts at Manchester City's youth players

Balotelli has peculiar ways of entertaining himself. Bored one morning, he decided to throw darts at Manchester City youth team players from a first-floor window. Fortunately, there were no injuries and Balotelli got off without punishment. Everybody seemed to realize there was more mischief where that came from, and decided to not stir up the hornet’s nest.

It might sound ridiculous that the Italian striker was throwing darts at fellow players, but then, that is how odd a person Balotelli is. The most astounding point in all of this was him deciding to do it just for kicks and to have a good time.

Of course, as was established earlier, Mario is rich, so wouldn't have really had an issue with paying the fine issued.