Sport(Football):Fight club! Mancini and Balotelli dragged apart after furious training ground bust-up

Fight club!  Mancini and Balotelli dragged apart after furious training ground bust-up

Roberto Mancini and Mario Balotelli had to be pulled apart by Manchester City players and staff after a furious bust-up at training today.

These extraordinary pictures show the City boss and Italian striker physically grappling at the club's Carrington training ground this morning in full view of the squad and staff.

Mancini was reportedly incensed by a mis-timed tackle by the 22-year-old forward on winger Scott Sinclair.

The manager went to keep the two players apart but Balotelli then squared up to the Italian who reacted by grabbing the young striker by his training bib.

A witness told the Manchester Evening News: "Mancini ran at him - he was furious.

"He grabbed hold of him and appeared to try and throw him on the floor.

"It looked like Mario was too strong and he couldn't get him down.

"Then all the coaches ran in to separate them but Mancini was having none of it.

"He kept trying to break free and have a go at him again."

Staff were forced to intervene and coach Brian Kidd had to get between the two before dragging Mancini away from the player as other staff pulled Balotelli away.

The striker was sent to the dressing room and left the training ground shortly afterwards in his camouflaged Bentley.

The bust-up is the latest in a long line of controversial incidents for Balotelli, who has previously been involved in training ground fights with former City man Jerome Boateng and full-back Alexandr Kolarov.

Last April it seemed his career at the Etihad was finished after he was sent off in a crucial 1-0 defeat at Arsenal as City were fighting for the title.

After the match, when asked whether Balotelli would be sold, Mancini said: “Probably – but I don’t know. I am finished. We have six games and he will not play in the next six games.

“I think that Mario should have been sent off after 10 minutes. Balotelli is a fantastic player, I can continue to play with Mario on the pitch but every time we’ll risk having him sent off.

“He needs to change his behaviour if he wants to improve his life. I’ve seen players finished in two or three years with huge talent. He needs to change. He must change it. I hope for him he will.

“He’s not a bad guy. He’s a fantastic player. But, at this moment, I’m very sorry for him because he continues to lose his talent, his quality.

“I hope, for him, he can understand that he’s in a bad way for his future, and he can change his behaviour in the future.”

Balotelli's future at the club is now surely in serious doubt if a buyer can be found.

Naturally the internet has already started taking the mickey out of the pair with hilarious Photoshopped memes.

Balotelli has also created more than his fair share of headlines since signing for Manchester City in 2010.