Yeah, well my Mario can beat up your dad!

[Florida Blue]

The guy truly has a split personality... role model? Maybe.

http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2011/05/11/how-much-does-mario-balotelli-hate-bullies-youre-not-going-to-believe-this/

How much does Mario Balotelli hate bullies? You’re not going to believe this

Rick Chandler

May 11, 2011, 2:06 PM EDT

Manchester City's Mario Balotelli gestures towards Manchester United fans after winning their FA Cup semi-final soccer match in London

A lot of pro athletes talk a good game when it comes to being opposed to bullying in school. But we must all bow to Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli, who took things to a whole different level recently in England. Among Balotelli’s recent exploits was giving a thousand pounds to a homeless man outside of a casino. But recently he topped that.

As Balotelli was leaving the team’s Carrington practice facility recently, he stopped to sign an autograph for a young fan. While chatting, he asked the boy why he wasn’t in school, being that it was early on a weekday. The boy admitted that he was avoiding school because he had been the victim of bullying.

After the fan revealed that he was being bullied, Mario drove the youngster and his mum over to the school in question and demanded a meeting with the headteacher.

The Blues ace got the youngster to confess what had been happening and made him identify the culprit. The lads eventually shook hands before Mario got into his white Maserati and sped off.

A source said: “Mario feels strongly about bullying and thinks it’s out of order.

“He had no qualms about sorting the mess out as he felt the lad should not be missing out on school.”

Known as Super Mario, Balotelli is notorious for a petulant attitude and “inflated ego,” which often shows in his style of play. Born in Italy to immigrants from Ghana, he has had a turbulent relationship with his parents, who gave him up to foster care as a child and now, he says, only want him back in their lives because he is famous.

[mr_nool]

Ha ha! I read that in a Swedish paper earlier this week, and was just waiting for it to be brought up on here.
Got to love the guy. Total fruitcake, but I think he's got his heart in the right place.

[DoomMerchant]

i can't think of another pro athlete, let alone footballer, who would do something like that. It's just amazing really if it's true.

he is our snowflake that's for sure...not another like him anywhere.

Carry on Balo you nutter. i like it.

cheers

[CityFanFromRome]

he's completely bonkers but he is not a bad guy; he's just had a rough childhood himself so he doesn't know perfectly well how to behave now that he's famous and still so young.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

As I said on the other (same thread) this story was attributed to Bellers last year and now regurgitated with Balotelli's name in it.

Just makes me wonder who is creating these stories.

[DoomMerchant]

As I said on the other (same thread) this story was attributed to Bellers last year and now regurgitated with Balotelli's name in it.

Just makes me wonder who is creating these stories.

that's just really quite insane to think about...slow news day? practical joke? libel? i dunno...