Mario Balotelli time, and that when a police officer asked why he had such a large sum of cash, Balotelli replied, "Because I am rich." Off-field activities involving Balotelli have included driving into a women's prison in Italy to "have a look round", and throwing darts at a youth team player during a training ground "prank" – all of which have been confirmed to be true. Balotelli has also been subjected to tabloid rumours about him confronting a bully in a school after querying why a young Manchester City fan was not attending classes, and giving £1,000 to a homeless man on
Mario Balotelli saved by Pepe Reina, the first time in 22 attempts as a professional. Balotelli is nicknamed "Super Mario" after the Italian video game character Mario from the iconic Nintendo series. Balotelli has been given a reputation by the media for being a difficult character and taking part in questionable and often amusing activities. He was once described by José Mourinho as "unmanageable". In June 2010, Balotelli and a group of friends fired air pistols in the open in Milan's Piazza della Repubblica. Although denying he is "crazy" as his mentor Roberto Mancini frequently claims, Balotelli has admitted he "sometimes does