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 for Italy's May and June 2018 friendlies. On 28 May, Balotelli made his first appearance for the national team since the 2014 World Cup, starting in the match against Saudi Arabia and scoring the opener in the 20th minute. He was later substituted in the 58th minute for Andrea Belotti, who scored the second goal of the match in an eventual 2–1 victory. Balotelli dedicated his goal to former Italy teammate Davide Astori, who died earlier in the year. Agile, quick, creative and powerful, Balotelli is credited with pace, flair, physical strength, technical ability and an eye for goal. His