Love him or loathe him, there can be no arguing about the showman credentials of Mario Balotelli.
Balotelli was the Premier League’s maverick figure during the early 2010s, livening up a division that reflected the wider austerity of the nation.
Whether it was setting off fireworks in his living room, scoring goals with his shoulder or baiting Rio Ferdinand, the Manchester City forward was box-office material.
So, despite his former club sending the Etihad giddy with a 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa to secure their fourth league title in five years on Sunday afternoon, Balotelli was never going to allow himself to be upstaged entirely.
As City won the Premier League with their trademark goal – a brilliant, undefendable cross from Kevin de Bruyne tapped home from the goal line after an enterprising run from one of their forwards – Balotelli scored the kind of effort that’d give Pep Guardiola an aneurism.
Receiving the ball on the left flank, the forward cut into the penalty area before performing seven step-overs in front of a perplexed Atakan Cankaya.
Seven step-overs. Seven. It was the kind of indulgence that’s usually the exclusive reserve of only children or Conservative cabinet ministers.
But it paid off handsomely. After leaving Cankaya in need of a lie-down and a hot drink, Balotelli shifted the ball onto his left foot and scored the kind of goal scored by a player totally in his element.
Yes, it was a deftly-executed rabona. And, yes, it effectively retired the goalkeeper on the spot. For all of their genius and success, you wouldn’t catch any City player doing that in a month of blue moons.
#ICYMI…
Mario Balotelli scored this ridiculous rabona yesterday.pic.twitter.com/fvCqIgUvmb
— World Soccer (@WorldSoccerMag) May 23, 2022
It’s hard to conceive of a more ‘Balotelli’ goal. Somewhere in Paris, the Mona Lisa is being quietly removed to make space for this sumptuous piece of art.
But his submission to the Puskas Award committee…
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