Micah Richards has revealed an incredible new story about Mario Balotelli, saying the Italian set off fireworks in Richards’ own house.
The pair played together at Manchester City from 2010 to 2013 during Roberto Mancini’s time at the club, winning the Premier League in 2012 and the FA Cup a year earlier.
Now, talking on the #FIFAChallenge, former defender Richards spoke about how close he was to the mercurial Balotelli and divulged he spotted Mohamed Salah‘s talent from day one at Fiorentina.
Micah Richards was close to Mario Balotelli during their time together at Manchester City
Balotelli and Richards with the FA Cup after City beat Stoke in the 2011 final at Wembley
‘He was like my soul-mate, he was like my younger brother,’ Richard says of Balotelli.
‘He used to love attention. He used to come over to my house… everyone knows the story of the fireworks in his house.
‘But he actually set fireworks off in my house! Chasing me round my house, what are you doing! But I love him. I still speak to him, make sure he’s alright. Top, top guy.’
Balotelli famously set off fireworks in his own bathroom, before scoring twice against Manchester United in a 6-1 victory in October 2011, revealing a ‘Why Always me?’ t-shirt after his first goal.
Balotelli famously revealed his ‘Why always me?’ t-shirt after scoring in the Manchester derby
The pair won the Premier League in 2012 despite Balotelli’s series of misdemeanours
After his time at Manchester City, Richards moved to Italy and joined Fiorentina on loan in the summer of 2014.
Inside Mario Balotelli’s burnt out Cheshire mansion after THAT firework disaster caused £400,000 of damage
This is the charred remains of Mario Balotelli’s bathroom after dozens of fireworks were let off during an infamous 2011 party in his £3million rented mansion.
A friend of the millionaire footballer set off dozens of fireworks from ‘multi-shot barrage cannons’ in his first floor bathroom three years ago, starting a serious blaze.
Despite the fire he scored twice against rivals Manchester United on the day after the firework incident and Balotelli revealed a t-shirt with the cryptic message: ‘why always me?’
Carnage: This is Mario Balotelli’s wrecked bathroom in his £3million mansion after a friend destroyed it with a pre-bonfire night fireworks display
Chaos: This picture shows where the mansion’s bath was and tiles and plaster appear to have been blown off the wall and ceiling
Party: These are the ‘barrage cannons’ of fireworks set off in the bathroom, which wrecked the first floor and started a blaze on the eve a huge game again Manchester United. Balotelli scored twice and used this t-shirt to ask: Why always me?
Bathroom towels were set on fire and the flames spread but Balotelli has insisted that he did not cause the blaze and that the offending fireworks were let off by his friends.
New photographs appear to show how tiles and plaster were blown off the walls and ceilings, the walls were scorched and covered in soot and how the landlord had to rip out fittings and start again.
