Marco Materazzi once gave Mario Balotelli a 'good beating' for a poor performance

Mario Balotelli has always had a knack for annoying those around him, be it fans, managers, opponents and even his own teammates. And Marco Materazzi once gave him a 'good beating.'

There has been few characters like Balotelli in the last few years in football, with the character to delight and frustrate anyone around him in equal measure.

The Italian has so many crazy stories told about him that sometimes it's difficult to know exactly what's true and what is fiction.

An amazing thread of all the yarns about him went viral recently, including throwing darts at teammates because he was bored and the famous fireworks in the bathroom fable.

Even Erling Haaland revealed that he'd like to play upfront with the Italian when he was asked which former Manchester City he'd want to play alongside.

"I think I would have to say either [Vincent] Kompany, big legend,” Haaland said.

"I think it would also be funny to play with [Mario] Balotelli. So, one of these two: Balotelli or Kompany would be really nice."

But the Norwegian should be careful what he wished for with former Inter Milan star Materazzi revealing he got so annoyed with the striker when they played together at the San Siro that he dolled out a 'beating.'

"I gave him a good beating, it's true. I love Mario, but he really deserved it that day," the World Cup winner explained on social media talking about Inter's Champions League tie with Barcelona in 2010.

"We've become friends again now, practically brothers, but he did something that day that he really should not have done. Throwing his shirt to the ground after the final whistle wasn't even the worst of it.

Balotelli's performance against Barcelona annoyed Materazzi. Image: Alamy

"Before the game, on the team bus, he told us: 'Today I'm going to play badly,' so I promised to make him pay if he did.

"When he came off the bench, he tried a shot from midfield rather than going on the counter. Diego Milito wanted to kill him.

"We believed in Mario, he scored many goals and contributed to the victory, but a week after that, I asked Mourinho to put me against Balotelli in the training ground games between ranks.

"After a few seconds, I'd sent him back to the dressing room."

Inter did go on to qualify from the semi final against Barca and were crowned Champions of Europe as they completed the Treble.