Mancini be warned: Bad-boy Balotelli has already fallen out with his Inter teammates, the fans, Mourinho and even his parents
By David Anderson
Walter Smith claims the best advice Sir Alex Ferguson gave him was not to go looking for trouble because it will always find you.
Roberto Mancini might bear that in mind when he welcomes Mario Balotelli to Manchester City.
The enfant terrible of Serie A is set to arrive at City with more baggage than the Blues are currently lugging around America on their US tour.
Balotelli may only be 19, but he has already fallen out with his parents, Jose Mourinho, Italian Under-21 coach Pierluigi Casiraghi, Inter Milan fans and even his team-mates at the San Siro.
His parents, Ghana-born Thomas and Rose Barwuah, entrusted him to the Balotelli family at the age of three and he accused them of "glory hunting" when they tried to walk back into his life after he became successful at Inter.
Mourinho accused him of being a poor trainer and dumped him from his squad on the eve of last season's Champions League clash with Chelsea after a blazing row.
Balotelli also had his run-ins with the Inter fans and hurled his shirt to the ground in disgust because they booed his performance in their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.
He then incensed them when he appeared on Italian TV wearing an AC Milan shirt and was forced to make a grovelling apology on the Inter website.
Some fans tried to attack him and his agent Mino Raiola even accused them of loosening the wheel nuts on his car when he crashed soon after.
Balotelli has also crossed Under-21 boss Casiraghi and he missed a team flight to a training camp in Trieste because he overslept.
Despite his obvious talent, he will not be missed at Inter and Gary Neville is as popular on the Kop as he is at the San Siro.
Only last week, defender Ivan Cordoba urged him to get out, claiming he doesn't try for Inter.
"If he has important offers, I'd advise him to have a change of scene so he can find new motivation, which he doesn't seem to have now," he said.
Few other players have been signed for so much money with so many bad references.
Roberto, you have been warned.
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