Balotelli shows off new ‘MB 459’ face tattoo with ‘black power’ ink

MARIO BALOTELLI has taken to social media to show off his latest face tattoo.

The former Manchester City and Liverpool striker has had "MB459" permanently inked under his left eye.

The 31-year-old proudly displayed the new artwork to his 9.7million Instagram followers.

The exact meaning of Balotelli's new "MB459" ink is not clear.

But Balotelli wore the No45 shirt at Inter Milan when he broke into the first team as youth prospects had to choose a number between No36 and No50.

He joked that he picked No45 because four plus five equals nine, with nine being a more common number among strikers.

But when Balotelli scored in four straight games with No45 on his back the number stuck.

Eventually he did go on to wear No9 during his short spell at Nice when No45 was unavailable.

Therefore "MB459" could be a nod to his own initials and various shirt numbers across the years.

Balotelli is no stranger to a face tattoo, and in the summer of 2020 he had the words "Black Power" tattooed above his right eye in his continued fight against racism.

At the same time he showed off a cross further down on his right temple, and also a gorilla's face on his neck.

On the other side, he chose an eagle's feather in front of his ear and a letter 'M' behind it on his neck.

Elsewhere on his body Balotelli has a quote from Mongol warlord Genghis Khan emblazoned across his chest.

He also has various other ink on his arms and shoulders.

Balotelli is currently enjoying a prolific spell with Turkish side Adana Demirspor.

The striker has netted 12 goals and provided six assists in 27 games in all competitions this summer.

His form led to calls for him to be included in Italian national team for the World Cup play-off against North Macedonia.

Boss Roberto Mancini though opted not to include him in the squad that were embarrassed 1-0 by the European minnows last week and failed to qualify for the Qatar World Cup.