Former Manchester City
defender Micah Richards has revealed Mario Balotelli regularly fell victim to
the club’s fine policy and was docked well over £100,000 (€116,000/$129,000)
for his lateness.
Balotelli, who is currently playing for Serie
A side Brescia, spent three seasons at the Etihad between 2010 and 2013. The
now 29-year-old has regularly struggled with disciplinary issues throughout his
career and that proved true at City too.
With the club implementing a fine system for
players that fell foul of set rules, Richards conceded Balotelli inevitably
became a massive contributor. “Balotelli was always late so we used to give all
our money [from fines] to charities, so by Christmas time we’d have £100,000 to
£150,000 in there – just from Balotelli,” Richards told BBC 5 Live Sport. “He’d
be in the building, so like we’d have a meeting upstairs, and he’d just be
downstairs relaxing. So he’d be in the building. “Fines are a common part of
most clubs and are usually enforced by the players themselves. At City,
Richards admitted he was often reluctant to dob teammates in but that Vincent
Kompany was a stickler for the rules.”It’s difficult because you know Kompany,
he’s busy isn’t he?” Richards said.
“He always kept track of the fines and because
I was sort of like vice-captain, one of the leaders in the dressing room, he’d
tell me to take charge of it but I’m not going to tell the manager a player was
late today or a player didn’t put their bib the washing bin – I’m not going to
do that. “So it was only if Vincent Kompany caught you. So the lads were
avoiding him. I’m not a snitch! “You could appeal it [the fine]. You’d have to
go with Kompany into the manager’s office. He had a fine sheet logged of all
the fines. He was like a school teacher, a headmaster, one of those guys when
you see him you turn the other way. “I tried to be friends with everyone. I
told him [Balotelli] ‘I’m going to let you off today’, but with Balotelli, it
was like every other week, I could only do so much.”
Source: Goal.com