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A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to blackmail Manchester City Football Club over photos said to show star player Mario Balotelli swigging champagne.
Multi-millionaire Balotelli, 21, is alleged to have been photographed at a nightclub just hours after his team dramatically lost to Swansea last month.
The pictures are believed to have been taken at the Panacea nightclub in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, on the night of March 11.
Manchester City executives refused to co-operate with the alleged demands. They instead contacted police, who arrested Daniel Brown, 25, over the incident.
Flamboyant striker Balotelli had played poorly during the away defeat to Swansea and had lain on the pitch after the loss with his head in his hands.
He was also involved in an unseemly argument with his teammate Yaya Toure in the tunnel at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium during the half-time break.
The footballer’s behaviour that night was said to be another factor in the breakdown in the relationship between him and his mentor and Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who has become increasingly frustrated with the wayward star.
It is understood the club is on the verge of selling Balotelli as a result of his antics with Mancini intimating that he may be prepared to offload him.
Brown, 25, from Rochdale, is now on police bail as officers investigate the blackmail allegations.
A source close to Manchester City said last night: ‘When the club was contacted with the photos of Balotelli and the demands were made, there was actually a huge sigh of relief because they expected the pictures to be far worse.
‘So much has happened with Mario that we could expect anything. The photos show him with a bottle of champagne in a club.’
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said last night: ‘We are currently investigating after an allegation of blackmail was made by a Premier League football club. A man has been arrested and is on police bail while inquiries are ongoing.’
A spokesman for Manchester City said: ‘We take a hard line against any individuals who attempt to commit blackmail against the club and the matter is now in the hands of the police.’
Balotelli has been in the headlines repeatedly over the past few weeks. He infamously caused a blaze at his £3 million Cheshire mansion by shooting fireworks out of the bathroom window with a friend and has also collected an estimated £10,000-worth of parking tickets by leaving his Bentley on double yellow lines.
It was also revealed that he had cheated on his girlfriend Raffaella Fico with Jenny Thompson – the former prostitute who had a threesome involving Wayne Rooney.
Balotelli was first spotted by Roberto Mancini at the Italian club Internazionale and joined Manchester City in August 2010 for an estimated £23 million.
He is known for being enigmatic and controversial both on and off the pitch and is well-known for his poor disciplinary record.
Within days of joining the club, he was involved in a car crash while carrying £5,000 cash on him.
And in December 2011, he broke a curfew before a game against Chelsea to go to a curry house.
As well as his Premier League antics, Balotelli infamously drove into a women’s prison in Italy and also threw darts at a youth team player during a training ground ‘prank’.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2129952/Man-arrested-Balotelli-champagne-blackmail-plot-Manchester-City-threatened-footballer-photographed-nightclub.html#ixzz1sBtKfsvd
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