Mario Balotelli has courted further controversy angrily by attacking his detractors in an angry online video.
The Liverpool striker uploaded the video onto his Instagram account on Tuesday evening, appearing to aim its content at people who have criticised him – presumably via social media – since what has thus far proved a largely unsuccessful move to Liverpool.
In the video, Balotelli looks squarely into the camera and asks: “Do you know me? Did you ever talk to me, personally? Do you know what I’ve been through in my life?
“You just saw me play football on the pitch so, man, shut up.”
The speech is captioned with the statement: “For those with an easy judge without knowing s*** about others. Good night #idowhatiwant-remember!”
Balotelli's career at Anfield is yet to gain any momentum although he has not helped by setbacks such as the bout of illness that kept him out of Monday night's win at Swansea. He has scored just one Premier League goal since arriving in August and has also attracted criticism from manager Brendan Rodgers for his work rate.
He also drew disapproval from his captain, Steven Gerrard, for assuming penalty-taking responsibilities from nominated taker Jordan Henderson in a Europa League game with Besiktas last month.
