24 November 2023 , 00:54
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Former Liverpool and Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli has been involved in a car crash in Italy that left his Audi in ruins.
According to Italian media, Balotelli lost control of his vehicle and careered into a wall in Orzinuovi, near his hometown in Brescia, shortly before 8.30pm. No other car was involved and the impact of the accident caused the air bags to inflate.
The 33-year-old managed to climb out of his vehicle and lay on the ground before receiving treatment from paramedics. He reportedly escaped serious injury, despite his car described as "destroyed" with pictures on social media revealing the extent of the damage.
Balotelli's brother, Enock Barwuah, was said to be training with his local football side nearby at the time of the accident. He arrived at the scene and, after Balotelli was given the all-clear, took his sibling home.
According to SportMediaset, Balotelli refused to comply with a breathalyser test despite the requests of police. Now based in Turkey after signing for Adana Demirspor in September, he had been permitted to return home by his club to recover from injury.
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The incident comes in the same week that Balotelli had publicly outlined his ambitions to return to the Italy set-up, despite the last of his 36 caps coming five years ago. That followed the Azzuri securing their qualification for Euro 2024, despite only managing a 0-0 draw with Ukraine in their final group game.
Mario Balotelli's car was left destroyed by the incident (Twitter)
The former Premier League player reportedly lost control of his vehicle (Twitter)"If I'm well, I still consider myself the strongest," Balotelli told TVPlay. "Did (Giacomo) Raspadori and (Gianluca) Scamacca play? How many shots did they take combined? Two?
"I want to recover and play for the national team. I always hope for the call. I met Spalletti and I've met him several times. We made some jokes when we met in a friendly with Napoli, but I have no relationship."
Balotelli famously contributed to an FA Cup win and a Premier League title during a three year stint with Man City, but amid numerous fallouts with boss Roberto Mancini was sold to AC Milan. A second stint in England with Liverpool proved ill-fated, scoring just one league goal before being loaned back to the San Siro.