Mario Balotelli 'Paid A Bar Owner €2000' To Drive His Moped Into The Sea And There's Footage

Mario Balotelli once challenged a bar owner to drive his Moped into the sea for €2000 and he uploaded the footage to Instagram. Check it out below.

Balotelli apparently made the bet with Catello Buonocore back in 2019 and it took place in the coastal city of Mergellina, Naples.

The video begins with Buonocore on his moped, barely clothed, and hurdling towards the sea.

He goes flying in and the camera pans back to Balotelli who can be seen laughing with shocked spectators in the background.

Reports at the time claimed Buonocore declared: "My moped was only worth €600 anyway," while collecting his earnings from Balotelli.

Luckily he didn't suffer any injuries, or that €2000 would've dwindled away very quickly.

The whole saga almost landed Balotelli in trouble with the law, with Football-Italia claiming Balotelli had been accused of 'criminal solicitation and gambling.'

Reports said the moped had been taken out of the sea but that didn't stop claims of the 'abandonment of hazardous waste' being lodged.

It's the kind of thing we've come to expect from the former Manchester City man.

Balotelli currently plays for Turkish outfit Adana Demirspor and has received a shock call-up to the Italy squad for their three-day training camp in Florence.

The 31-year-old hasn't played for his country since 2018 and manager Roberto Mancini has insisted it isn't down to desperation.

Italy are yet to qualify for this year's World Cup in Qatar and face North Macedonia in the play-offs in March.

"Am I playing a desperate card? No," Mancini stressed in a press conference on Wednesday. "If that desperation is the same as that before the European Championship, then that's fine.

"But that's not the situation here. Over the next few days we'll try different things and evaluate players that have not been called up for a while, like Mario, and others that are new."

Balotelli made the headlines earlier this season for appearing to 'punch' a teammate in frustration.

After being substituted early in a game, Balotelli took his seat on the bench and threw his shinpads to the floor.

He also shouted at manager Samet Aybaba and other coaches in the area before striking the teammate to his right.

In typical Balotelli fashion however, he calmed down rather quickly and then starting acting like nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

Featured Image Credit: Mario Balotelli/Instagram

Topics: Football, Mario Balotelli, Italy