Another Manchester derby is on the horizon.
As thoughts turn to the December 10 clash, it’s inevitable you’ll see the odd reference to Mario Balotelli’s ‘Why always me?’ moment in 2011.
Having given his side the lead at Old Trafford that day, the Italian striker famously celebrated by revealing the printed message on a shirt he was wearing beneath his Manchester City jersey.
City beat United 6-1 that day, and ended the season as Premier League champions.
The man responsible for printing that shirt was Les Chapman, City’s former kit man of 17 years. In an interview given to the Daily Mail, Chapman speaks of Balotelli’s unpredictable nature during his stint at The Etihad.
“He was a complete one-off, the most unpredictable man on the planet,” he explained. “When he got sent off at Arsenal he threw his boot through the plasma TV in the dressing-room.”
“But he was bright, he wasn’t stupid, and he was very generous. He would go into a garage and pay for everyone’s petrol or give a homeless guy a wad of cash.”
Chapman also revealed that when the striker departed for AC Milan in January 2013, he left a number of car parking tickets behind in his locker.
“He used to wonder why his car was impounded 27 times… because it was painted in camouflage and he parked it on double yellows outside San Carlo restaurant in the middle of Manchester every day. I opened his locker after he left and all his parking tickets just fell out.”
