Mario Balotelli’s love affair with Belgian model breaks down
Christmas season may be upon the football family, but one player who isn't feeling so upbeat these days is AC Milan's Mario Balotelli.
The Italian striker has been said to be "down in the dumps" recently since the end of his relationship with Belgian model Fanny Naguesha (seen above with him at the San Siro).
This was discussed on a national television show, "Verissimo", recently by a journalist named Silvia Toffanin, who said he read a letter in which the 23-year-old star striker claimed to be feeling "very agitated" these days.
More tellingly, Toffanin claims the tweet posted on the player's Twitter account a few weeks ago which read, "The End", referred to the end of his love affair with Naguesha.
Balotelli, who has scored a total of 21 goals in 31 games for AC Milan since joining, had been dating Naguesha since November 2012, when he was still at Manchester City.
He has also been arguably Milan's most consistent player since his arrival, making way for the possibility of Stephan El Shaarawy being sold in January to a rival club.
Although she travelled with him to the Confederations Cup in Brazil this year, news surfaced that their relationship hit a rocky patch due to the distance between the couple.
Neguesha, 22, frequently visited her beau in Milan, but was also keen on developing her modeling career away from the controversial striker.
The Italian media has made "Fanny-Balotelli" a staple tabloid gossip, especially since Balotelli's reputation has been compared to that of a "circus" by Milan vice-president, Adriano Galliani.
In addition, Balotelli is in a settlement battle with his ex-girlfriend, Italian showgirl Raffaella Fico, who accused him of refusing to take a paternity test three times.
The test was meant to determine that the controversial player is indeed the father of a child named Pia, whom he has not acknowledged as his daughter.
"She is confusing me with an emir. And she only tells lies," Balotelli said before adding he did not want to be tested.
Pressure from the media gossip and his "bad boy" image is also believed has also contributed to Balotelli's troubles off the pitch.
In October this year, he picked up a thigh injury and was slapped with a three-match ban for arguing with the referee.
In the same month, Balotelli snapped a microphone of a reporter in Naples and shoved a video camera out of his way before boarding a bus waiting to take the Italian national team to their hotel.
The next day, the striker admitted that he was frustrated about the media coverage of him in Italian newspapers, accusing him of working "alongside the mafia".
Balotelli's poor disciplinary record has angered AC Milan fans, who believe he should display a better attitude in trying to get Milan out of their ninth spot on the Serie A standings.
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