Fiorentina defender Micah Richards has again spoken of his madcap bust-ups with Mario Balotelli at Manchester City.
Balotelli is now enjoying good press in England following his move from AC Milan to Liverpool.
"[Mario is] crazy, but one of the nicest guys ever. We were playing five-a-side and losing because Mario, being Mario, wasn't tracking his runner," Richards has told The Guardian.
"I was like: 'Mario, f***'s sake, track your man.' But you know what he's like. He started swearing in Italian and waving his hands.
"I said: 'Mario I'm not in the mood today'. I lost my head, he lost his, and it was just bonkers. You couldn't get away with anything at City because there were always photographers everywhere."
A year later, Balotelli was involved in another fracas with Roberto Mancini - generally regarded as the incident which proved the final straw in the complex relationship between the forward and the Coach in Manchester.
"People say it started because of a late challenge but it wasn't that. Mancini wanted to explain something," Richards added.
"Mario wasn't interested and then it was just madness. I just left them to it because they were like father and son, rather than manager and player.
"My favourite Mario story is when he went into the school to speak to the bully. He just does what he wants, doesn't he?"
