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 on as a substitute to score in his debut against Romanian side Politehnica Timișoara in a 1–0 away win in the UEFA Europa League, but during the match, injured the lateral meniscus in his right knee and on 8 September, underwent surgery that sidelined him until October. Balotelli eventually made his Premier League debut on 24 October as a substitute in a 3–0 home defeat to Arsenal, then made his first Premier League start on 30 October in a 2–1 away defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Balotelli scored his first and second Premier League goals on 7 November in a 2–0