Highlights

• Mario Balotelli is one of the most enigmatic and mercurial footballers of his generation.
• Issues on and off the pitch have sadly prevented the Italian from reaching his full potential.
• But he's still produced some magical moments over the years, including his outrageous rabona goal for Adana Demirspor in 2022.

Once touted as a potential Ballon d'Or winner and a player who fancied his chances of reaching Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's level, Mario Balotelli has never been anything short of blockbuster entertainment. To say he's an eccentric figure would be an understatement.

It felt like the forward made headlines every week during his time with Manchester City. Sometimes it was for good reasons, with his talents shining through on the pitch. Other times, however, his off-field antics took centre stage. At his best, the Italian could bully defenders into submission and score all kinds of goals at will. At his worst, he was attempting to score ridiculous back-heel goals from close range and arguing with his manager.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Mario Balotelli picked up one assist in 70 Premier League games – it set up Sergio Aguero for his winner against Queen Park Rangers.

Throughout his career so far, the striker has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan and Liverpool. It's fair to say that there was a lot of potential there which fans never got to see. During his time in Turkey with Adana Demirspor, the 33-year-old showed fans what he's capable of on his day.

Balotelli's Outrageous Rabona Goal

One of the most skillful goals ever scored

Despite failing to live up to the early hype, the Italian has still scored some wonder goals over the years. While playing for Adana Demirspor against Goztepe in 2022, Balotelli went into full showboating mode and netted the most extraordinary goal of his career to date.

After making his way into the opposition box, the Italian then performed seven step-overs in front of a defender before taking the ball outside with a touch and tricking the keeper from a tight angle in the corner of the six-yard box with a sublime rabona that settled into the bottom corner. Watch Balotelli's breathtaking goal here:

Let's take another look at the goal in slow-motion. We didn't know it was possible to do that many step-overs in such a short amount of time.

That wasn't the only contribution he made in the side's 7-0 thrashing of Goztepe. The striker had previously scored four times earlier in the match to cap a match to remember. The rabona, which was nominated for the Puskas Award, was his 18th goal of the season in what was a successful campaign for the Italian.

Pipped to the Puskas Award

Balotelli finished fourth in voting for the accolade

While Balotelli's strike was deservedly in contention for the FIFA Puskas Award for best goal of 2022, it ultimately finished just outside the top three. That year's award instead went to Marcin Oleksy, for this gem of a goal:

Oleksy - who plays for the Polish international Amputee Football team - scored a goal for his club side Warta Poznan that also went viral. The player used his crutches to meet a looping cross with a stunning bicycle kick, putting his entire weight on his left crutch and adjusting his body into a horizontal position.

Speaking about the goal via ESPN, he said: "When I saw how the ball was played toward me, at the height it was, I thought 'this could be something beautiful. So I just hit it. I was following it with my eyes, and when I saw it in the net it just felt like magic.

"During practice, we don't really often try to do these kinds of shots. But when I started playing amputee football, I always wanted to do something special. I found out the next day, because the big TV stations and sports outlets started to show it. I knew then that it was going to be something big in Poland, but not across the whole world."

Lionesses star Alessia Russo was also in contention to win the award for her sensational back-heel goal against Sweden at Euro 2022. Kylian Mbappe's second strike against Argentina in the World Cup final was also nominated. The forward unleashed a beautifully controlled shot that beat Emiliano Martinez.

Balotelli's Current Club

He's back in Turkey

The forward returned to Adana Demirspor last summer for a second spell. His 2021-22 campaign earned him a move to Swiss Super League club Sion, but after just one campaign there – where he managed six goals in nine games – his two-year contract was terminated. The Italian has spent most of the 2023/24 season on the sidelines and has only managed to make 10 appearances in all competitions so far, scoring six times.

Balotelli has scored pretty regularly throughout his career - which is incredible considering all the chaos he's had to endure behind the scenes. Even now, at Adana Demirspor, at the age of 33, finding the back of the next continues to be the last of his problems.

All stats via Transfermarkt (01/04/2024).