‘I want to slam him into a wall’: Mario Balotelli’s post-Man City career

He made the move to the Etihad on his 20th birthday and left after just two-and-a-half seasons, but Mario Balotelli’s time with Manchester City remains the most famous stretch of his career. 

After scoring with his shoulder, rolling in many ice-cool penalties and laying on the assist for that Aguero goal, it is easy to see why. But couple that talent and audacity with a horrendous disciplinary record and you also have the perfect recipe for a sour ending.

In December 2012, as his time in Manchester was starting to wind down, he decided to take City to a tribunal after he was fined two weeks’ wages for that exact ill-discipline. In total, he missed 11 matches of the 2012-13 campaign through suspension and eventually dropped his case, leaving for AC Milan a month later.

It is hard to imagine Balotelli being anything other than an exciting but frustrating footballer in his 20s. But the Italian marksman is now nearing his 32nd birthday and he recently capped off his first season with newly-promoted Turkish Super Lig side Adana Demirspor with an absolutely ridiculous goal.

Where has the time gone?

After arriving for a second spell at San Siro – albeit for former club Inter’s arch-rivals – AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani described seeing Balotelli in the Rossoneri as “a dream that has been realised”, while the excitement around his unveiling led to some clashes between fans and the police.

He hit the ground running, scoring 12 goals in 13 matches over the second half of the 2012-13 season, including two on his debut.

The following campaign saw Balotelli miss his first professional penalty, Pepe Reina foiling him for Napoli, but he still went on to bag a reasonable 14 goals in 30 Serie A games.

That form, coupled with