Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been pictured having an astonishing physical confrontation with manager Roberto Mancini on Thursday.
It is reported Mancini stepped in after Balotelli went in too strongly on team-mate Scott Sinclair for the City boss’s liking.
Balotelli is reported to have taken exception to Mancini’s intervention, leading to the pair having to be pulled apart.
In the sequence of pictures, Mancini is seen striding towards Balotelli, pointing in an aggressive manner.
He is then seen to grab hold of Balotelli’s orange bib in an apparent act of fury before the young striker is dragged away by a member of City’s coaching staff.
A short time later, Balotelli is believed to have left the training ground at Carrington, on the outskirts of Manchester.
Balotelli’s habit of attracting negative press has seen him frequently become the subject of criticism, but Mancini has always been a firm ally of the temperamental but talented striker.
Yet after this latest spat it seems increasingly likely the 21-year-old – whose off-and-on girlfriend Raffaella Fico recently gave birth to a girl – will leave City. Bookies responded to the pictures by immediately slashing odds on Balotelli signing for AC Milan from 5/1 to 2/1.
The Italy international’s form has been poor this season and he was recently involved in a dispute over a fine he received from the club.