The bizarre reason why Mario Balotelli missed the first two minutes for Nice at the weekend

We imagine Mario Balotelli isn't the fastest dresser in the world.

Who could forget the now-infamous footage of Balotelli struggling to pull a training bib over his head while at Manchester City, when the pre-match preparations for City's Europa League tie against Dynamo Kiev became Balotelli's one-man war with a pretty straightforward piece of clothing? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYU-SeVofHs It's safe to say that the controversial Italian centre-forward has a bit of a reputation and another one of those Balotelli moments reared its head at the weekend, when the 26-year-old missed the opening two minutes of Nice's 1-1 draw at Nantes. Balotelli started up front for Lucien Favre's side on Saturday but didn't join in with the action straight away. The reason? He had tied his bootlaces too tight and felt uncomfortable running so requested that not one, but two members of the Nice backroom staff come to offer him assistance. As his Nice teammates got started without a front man, Balotelli spent two minutes on the sidelines making sure his laces were just right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0LxcVPBWVM Balotelli didn't see out the 90 minutes, as he was substituted in the final 10 minutes much to the striker's visible disgust. But at least he got his jacket on alright when he made his way off the pitch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMQ92Y6NhvU