Manchester City’s striker Mario Balotelli’s Maserati sports car has been in the headlines before after racking up thousands of pounds worth of parking fines for the Italian footballer, however the state of the art sports car is making news for another reason after it became the subject of a training ground prank.

The white Maserati sports car may have to be written off after its believed Manchester City team mates of Balotelli played a prank on the footie star, planting a sports bag full of kippers inside the car before the Italian left the country for a two week stint in the US.

Upon Balotelli’s return, he was greeted by an overbearing stench of rotting fish when he opened the door to get in his beloved sports car. According to reports, rotting fish had also been placed across the back leather seats of the sports car, contributing further to the stench which almost made the footballer physically sick.

The smell is so pungent, that the insurance company is considering writing off the sports car as the smell as permeated the upholstery and the stink may never leave the vehicle.

As yet, no one has owned up to the costly prank, although Balotelli who is known for pulling a number of practical jokes on team mates, already has plans for revenge.

The eye catching white Maserati hit the headlines earlier this year when it was revealed the striker had forked out £10,000 in parking fines and had the car impounded on 27 different occasions over the course of the last year.