‘I performed with Mario Balotelli – he was bonkers and one incident summed him up completely’
Gareth Barry enjoyed a stellar career in the Premier League and with England, but one team-mate’s antics stand out ahead of all others: Mario Balotelli
‘Bonkers’ Mario Balotelli was one of Gareth Barry’s favourite team-mates
Gareth Barry admits madcap Italian footballer Mario Balotelli was the most ‘bonkers’ team-mate he ever had.
Barry made almost 700 appearances for four different clubs during a long and distinguished career. But the former England midfielder reckons he never shared a dressing room with someone crazier than Balotelli. The Italian striker created more headlines off the pitch than on it during a three-year stint with Manchester City.
Balotelli had fights with then manager Roberto Mancini and several team-mates, while he got caught smoking in the showers at the training ground. He threw a dart at a youth team player, made an impromptu visit to a Manchester school and let off fireworks in his own bathroom on the eve of a Manchester derby at Old Trafford, in which he scored the opening goal.
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Barry played more than 50 games alongside Balotelli during their time together at the Etihad. And Barry told BetMGM : “He didn’t have an off button. I think bonkers is a fair assessment of Mario.
“You know, at the time, he was so young, so I just thought he was possibly a bit immature, a bit of a joker, and he might grow up.
“But by the sounds of it, everywhere he went, he still had the same sort of personality. He had so much talent, so much ability and was really fun to train with.
“His finishing was incredible – with both feet. Somebody told me the other day that his only assist in the Premier League was for that [Sergio] Aguero goal against QPR.
“That sums up Mario perfectly. To come at the right time and produce an assist like that showed the talent he had.
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“It was probably a shame he didn’t have the career his talent deserved, but he still had some special moments. There were a lot of funny stories involving him, most of which I think most people have heard.
“There was fighting with the manager, fighting with other players – because eventually everyone had had enough of Mario!
“The firework incident was just typical Mario. From him doing that and making the headlines to playing in the Manchester derby the next day and scoring the first goal.
“We didn’t think he’d even be in the squad after what had happened.”
