Balotelli racks up £55,000 hotel bill - Man City striker forks out to stay in Hilton after firework damage

MANCHESTER City oddball Mario Balotelli has reportedly racked up a £55,000 hotel bill after he was forced to evacuate his firework-ravaged home.

The striker — dubbed Mad Mario — is said to have decamped to the Manchester Hilton after a £200 banger ignited in the bathroom of his £3million rented pad causing extensive damage.

Repairs to the property will set the Italian player back £400,000.

And it's now claimed he's forked out another £55,000 to stay in a £979-per-night suite in the five star hotel ever since the unfortunate incident in October.

As well as smoke damage to the four-bed Cheshire pad, the bathroom in which the firework exploded was gutted.

The incident is said to have occurred when a friend of Balotelli aimed the pyrotechnic device at fellow revellers partying in the garden.

Ten firefighters raced to the scene.

A source said: "There's nothing left of the designer bathroom but charred and melted remains.

"Thick smoke made the whole place uninhabitable. That's what has sent the damage costs spiralling.

"They were lucky to escape serious injury."

The furious businessman who owns the plush abode reportedly refused to go through insurance, demanding Balotelli pay for the renovation work out of his own pocket.

It's not the first time 21-year-old Balotelli has been caught up in a firework controversy – he let off rockets from the balcony of the Manchester flat he initially rented upon signing for City in August last year.

Speaking about his mood after the 1am stunt at his former gaff backfired, he said: "I was really, really angry."