WHETHER IT’S A t-shirt querying ‘Why Always Me?’ or unfounded Twitter rumours suggesting that he dressed up as Santa Claus to give away money, the footballing world seems to adore Mario Balotelli.
That fascination is about to be taken to another level, however, with plans for a jazz opera to celebrate his life to date in the Premier League – to be written by Manchester City fan and musician Patrick Knowles.
The 65-year-old has already composed a piece of music entitled ‘Balotelli – Why Always me’ and will expand the work over the coming months.
“By normal standards he’s crazy but people haven’t had his experience,” Knowles explained to the Manchester Evening News. “He does things like go to a casino with Chris Samba and hands some of his winnings to a tramp.
“You couldn’t write this kind of thing. It’s a gift from heaven. To put that to music would be amazing. It could be the biggest opera since Jerry Spriner. It’s going to be enormous.”
The production isn’t likely to be ready for the stage any time soon, giving the Italian plenty of time to add to his impressive collection of headline-grabbing activities.
City boss Roberto Mancini has, meanwhile, confirmed that Balotelli will be fit for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham following the ankle injury that forced him to sit out his club’s fixture against Wigan earlier this week.