Mario Balotelli Adds ‘Black Power’ Tattoo to His Face

On the pitch, the last couple of years have been a bit rough for Mario Balotelli. He played for three teams—Nice, Marseilles, Brescia—in the span of 12 months. Where he was once one of the premier scorers in the world, Balotelli netted only 5 goals in 19 appearances this past season as Brescia ended up getting relegated from Serie A. In other words, we understand why he may be turning to some new tattoos as a way to cheer himself up. 

Balotelli got not one, not two, but five new tattoos added to his face and neck recently. This made us wonder if athletes are only getting tattoos in groups of five nowadays, former NBA MVP Derrick Rose chose the same number of pieces just last week. 

 The most notable of the tattoos has to be the script over his eye, which reads “Black Power.” As a Black Italian man playing in Europe, Balotelli has often been a lightning rod for disgusting racist attacks from fans. This past season, Balotelli was subject to racist taunts during away matches at both Hellas Verona and Lazio. Never afraid to make a bold statement, Balotelli’s tattoo serves as an elegant way to tell off racist fans. 

In addition to the script, Balotettli got a script “M” tattoo, a feather, a cross and lastly, a gorilla on his neck. The tattoos were done by Eros Saviano, a tattooer working in Brescia.  

At age 30, Balotelli’s career is winding down, but he likely still has a couple of years left, so don’t expect him to be sticking around Brescia and playing in Serie B next season. 

We applaud Balotelli for these tattoos and look forward to seeing where he ends up playing this year.