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Strap yourselves in for the ride, Reds fans.

Mario Balotelli is on his way to Liverpool FC - a £16m fee has been agreed with AC Milan - and headline writers up and down the country are rubbing their hands with glee.

The Italian striker has produced plenty of memorable moments during his career so far, many of them being off-the-field incidents.

Here are seven of the craziest.

Brass in pocket

Balotelli came up with a now-infamous response to police when they were called out after he had crashed his Audi R8 near City’s Carrington training ground.

When asked why he was carrying £5,000 in his back pocket, the striker replied: “Because I am rich.”

He was only two weeks into his City career. This was just the beginning...

Let’s play darts

In March 2011, Balotelli landed himself in hot water with his club after allegedly throwing a dart at a youth team player.

Fortunately for the player involved, and Balotelli, nobody was hurt in the incident at Manchester City’s training ground. But the striker was hit with a £100,000 fine - one week’s wages.

All aboard the showboat

Balotelli upset his manager Roberto Mancini in July 2011 when he tried an extravagant back-heel while playing on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

The Italian found himself clear through on goal against LA Galaxy but, rather than find the back of the net, Balotelli turned and tried to back-heel the ball at goal. He missed and was promptly hauled off.

Mancini said: “I hope this is a lesson. If you [Balotelli] are serious, you can play 90 minutes. If not, you can come and sit by me on the bench.”

Watch: James Pearce on why Balotelli is a gamble that could pay off

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Rocket man

Not content with fireworks on the pitch, Balotelli’s most famous moment concerned fireworks off it. In his bathroom, to be exact.

Balotelli set off the fireworks in his bathroom and emergency services had to be called to put out the flames. He wasn’t charged after the authorities deemed it was an accident.

It wasn’t even November 5.

Language, Mario

Balotelli produced a man of the match display in the 2011 FA Cup final as Stoke City were beaten 1-0 at Wembley. Unfortunately, he did not cover himself in glory during the post-match interview, screened live to millions on TV.

When asked whether the final was his best display of the season, he used a four-letter expletive to sum-up his campaign.

"Can I say that?" he asked. Er, no.

Handbags at Carrington

Balotelli was reported to have been in a number of bust-ups during his time at Manchester City.

But one caught the eye more than others. In January 2013, he was pictured pushing and shoving Mancini at the club’s training ground.

Balotelli had reportedly riled Mancini for making some overly-aggressive tackles during a training session.

Coach Brian Kidd had to end up separating the pair but the damage was done Balotelli was sold to AC Milan later that month.

Mario kart

Balotelli might have returned to Italy in 2013, but his crazy antics continued.

He was forbidden by his club, AC Milan, from driving mini karts because of injury. So, the story goes, the striker got around the problem by convincing bosses at his local kart track to let him drive his £200,000 Ferrari around the circuit instead. Balotelli admitted in a later interview that the track in question was his own.