Mario Balotelli away win to West Bromwich Albion. In the same game Balotelli received a red card for violent conduct as the result of a clash with Youssuf Mulumbu, which his manager Roberto Mancini described as unfair. Balotelli scored the first two of City's three goals in the 3–0 win over Red Bull Salzburg in Manchester City's Europa League group stage match. On 21 December 2010, Balotelli won the Golden Boy Award, saying only one of the past winners was slightly better than he was: Lionel Messi. He also claimed not to know of Arsenal's Jack Wilshere, the player he narrowly beat
Mario Balotelli their 1–1 draw against Ajax. Balotelli finished the season with a career high 18 league goals and a further 26 goals across all competitions. His strong form earned him a re-call to the Italy national team for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup four years prior. On 20 August 2018, Balotelli re-signed with Nice on a third consecutive one-year contract after a move to rivals Marseille fell through earlier in the summer. Balotelli was unable to answer call-ups to the Italian national under-15 and under-17 teams as he was still considered to be a Ghanaian immigrant. On