Mario Balotelli jokes about firework-gate with New Year’s Instagram post

Not again, Mario...

Former Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli is gearing-up to celebrate New Year's Eve in typical Balotelli-fashion. The Italian posted a photo on his Instagram story of a car boot packed full with numerous boxes of fireworks. While this is a completely normal thing for many people at this time of the year, the striker has a complicated history when it comes to pyrotechnics. The 31-year-old, who has impressed with current side Adana Demirspor this season, scoring seven goals and laying on two assists in 18 appearances, is set to celebrate the new year in style, and with a host of fireworks. He captioned the photo "Man City, we are ready," alongside a laughing emoji, referring to the infamous incident from his time at City. During his time at the Etihad, Balotelli set off fireworks in the bathroom of his £3million rented house in Cheshire in 2011. The incident saw the Italian needing to flee from his home after the fireworks caused a fire in the five-bedroomed house. While the frontman escaped unharmed, two fire crews were required to put out the blaze in the early hours of the morning. He told club officials that he and four friends were setting off fireworks through an open window in his house when some towels caught fire, later claiming that one of his friends was responsible for setting off the firework. Ironically, Balotelli then became Manchester's ambassador for fireworks safety later that year prior to Bonfire Night.

"It is important children should not mess with fireworks. They can be very dangerous if they are not used in the right way. People should follow the firework code," he warned, as per The Guardian.

And yet, even 10 years later, we can't be sure whether the 31-year-old still has learnt his lesson - jokingly referencing to his chequered past with fireworks ahead of his New Year's Eve celebrations. Related links:

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