Bad boy Balotelli takes fine on chin

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini last night confirmed striker Mario Balotelli had been fined a week’s wages for breaking a club curfew.

The 21-year-old accepted the punishment — believed to be around £120,000 (€143,000) — after being pictured outside a strip club in Liverpool in the early hours of Friday morning, contravening club regulations ahead of Saturday’s game against Bolton.

Balotelli went on to play and score in the Premier League leaders’ 2-0 defeat of the Trotters at the Etihad Stadium but Mancini expressed his disappointment and pledged to investigate.