Mario Balotelli enjoyed what is likely to prove the most expensive curry in history on Saturday night.

The Manchester City striker went for a midnight curry with friends at popular Indian restaurant Zouk less than 48 hours before the critical Premier League match against Chelsea.

Staying out past one o'clock on Sunday morning meant Balotelli had broken manager Roberto Mancini's player curfew, and will land the 21-year-old a fine of a week's wages. That is a cool £150,000.

Of course, you might be wondering how he got caught; after all, a quiet, late-night curry after a booze-free evening is unlikely to have caused much commotion on a Saturday night in Manchester city centre.

Not for Balotelli, however: according to the Daily Star's account, the player and his friends decided to entertain their fellow diners by staging an impromptu mock sword fight, using rolling pins as pretend swords.

As ever with the entertaining Italian, you simply couldn't make it up.

Eurosport