Seeing Mario Balotelli on the touchline at the Champions League final was a throwback to the time when he was raising hell at Manchester City. The same smouldering presence. The same sartorial elegance. The same sense that he would really rather be somewhere else. Predicted score, Mario, for the BT Sport team who are paying you very well? ‘No comment,’ he replied.
He became a preposterous figure within these shores by the end; a cartoon character who revealed that T-shirt, ‘Why always me?’, whilst scoring two goals in the 6-1 hammering of Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2011.