Mario Balotelli HIC 16:9GOAL

Mario Balotelli: What happened to football's 'most interesting man in the world'?

It remains one of the most iconic images in sporting history. Mario Balotelli, stone-faced, shirt off, fists clenched, muscles bulging - a picture of defiance. Balotelli himself even commissioned an artist to immortalise the moment with a life-sized statue.

In fairness, he wasn't the only one enamoured with the iconic pose. FIFA added the forward's 'flex' at Euro 2012 to the very next edition of its video game series, while Subbuteo rolled out a special-edition figurine.

At the time, everyone was enthralled by 'Super Mario'. He was featured on the front page of Time magazine, joining an exclusive club of Italian idols that included Luciano Pavarotti, Silvio Berlusconi, Sophia Loren and Giorgio Armani.

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Sports Illustrated labelled him 'The Most Interesting Man in the World' and, to be fair, he wasn't far off.