English Premiership
Balotelli racks up fines
2011-04-25 09:14
Manchester - Manchester City’s eccentric Italian striker Mario Balotelli has notched up nearly £10,000 in parking fines and had his luxury car impounded 27 times, according to
The Sun.
Video: Balotelli can't dress himselfThe Italian, who earns £100,000-a-week, has had an average of three parking tickets a day since he signed for Roberto Mancini’s team last year.
According to the report, a source at the club said: "Mario will drive from his luxury apartment to a restaurant a few streets away and leave the car on double yellows.
"The other week the Maserati misfired so he just abandoned it. Staff have had to bail it out 27 times.
"The valet the club uses empties the glovebox of tickets every time he cleans it. Mario doesn't seem to care. It's a drop in the ocean to him."
The source added: "Mario was pulled over by the police and he had £25,000 cash on the passenger seat. They asked him why and he said, 'Because I can'. He doesn't care much for authority."
To go with his traffic fines, Balotelli has also paid £300,000 in club fines, most recently for throwing darts at a youth team player.
And on the field his disciplinary record doesn't look any better, with ten yellow cards and two reds in only 24 appearances.