8. The Catalonian Chaos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWWcsLnBc4c Announcing himself to European audiences at the age of 19, it was the British media's first glimpse of the controversial maverick, as Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan sensationally dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage. Having masterminded an insatiable first-leg victory at the San Siro, courtesy of a masterclass in defending, the full-time whistle should have been met with scenes of jubilation and ecstacy from the Milanese. That memo certainly had not been forwarded to at least one of the camp. Having replaced goal-scorer Diego Milito with 15 minutes left, the home support were infuriated by the teenager's poor work ethic, as he consistenly surrendered possession to the Catalonian outfit. The level of discontent grew inside the stadium, as supporters booed his erratic touches and half-hearted efforts, leading Balotelli to gesticulate angrily in their direction. Following the sounding of the full-time whistle, the Italian youngster threw his jersey to the turf in a fit of anger, before storming down the tunnel.
''I am sorry that the fans were like that with Balotelli. I always want my fans to be with my players right to the end. But, in the end, I can understand them because they saw the same thing as me. They saw a team which was dead, exhaused after all their efforts. The team was destructed and then Mario comes on with this attitude.'' - Jose Mourinho, April 2010.
It was this temperament and immaturity that curtailed his Inter Milan career, leading to Mourinho freezing him out on several occasions due to his attitude and poor discipline. Having made no secret of his love for city rivals AC Milan, the young man's PR machine should have been sacked - there was never going to be any future for him at Inter Milan.