Meaning Number 45 That Mario Balotelli Has Used For 15 Years Of His Career In Football

FC Sion player, Mario Balotelli. (Photo: Twitter/@FCSion)

JAKARTA - It has been 15 years since Mario Balotelli has a career in football. His career is quite colorful, there are achievements and also controversy.

There are several things that are rarely revealed in Balotelli's long career. One of them is the use of the number 45 that he has always used in 15 years.

Usually, a striker will use number 9 or 10. However, the number Balotelli chose is far from that.

The former Liverpool and Manchester City striker has insisted on wearing the same number since joining his first major club Inter Milan in 2007.

"When I first played three or four games with Inter Milan, when I was young, I used number 45 because the numbers for young players were from number 36 to number 50," Balotelli said, as reported by The Sun.

"I took number 45 because I joked that four plus five were nine, and I scored in four games."

"It gave me luck and that's why I always keep No 45," he continued.

However, that luck was not able to be balanced with his controversial attitude. Manchester City has disciplined him for throwing arrows from windows.

Balotelli also had sports cars confiscated many times and he accidentally set fire to his house with fireworks.

Another controversy is a dispute on the pitch during training with City boss at the time Roberto Mancini in 2016.

He also had to change clubs several times because he was involved in a dispute with the coach or team management.

Currently, the former Italian national team player is joining Swiss club FC Sion. He was brought in on August 31.