A five-figure sum has been anonymously donated to the Manchester Dogs' Home, which was destroyed by a fire that killed 60 dogs last week, and Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli is believed to be the mysterious benefactor.
Why (always) Mario? There seem to be two reasons. First, Balotelli used to be a volunteer dog walker for the home while his own dog was back home in Italy during his time playing for Manchester City. But the organization has surely had many volunteers and benefactors over the years and a number of them must be of considerable means. So, again, why is Balotelli being publicly named as the likely donor? Because Mario Balotelli is assumed to be the person behind just about everything. He's the Bill Murray of Europe. The subject of a never ending stream of unusual and mostly delightful tales — enough of which are true to make people automatically believe that they are all true.
Previous reports have had Balotelli paying for everyone's fuel at a gas station, giving a thousand pounds to a homeless man outside a casino, and putting a thousand pounds into a church collection plate on Christmas Eve. Balotelli later debunked all of those stories, but he also supposedly gives almost half his salary to charity. So maybe the Manchester Dogs' Home received a sizable chunk of one of his first checks from Liverpool.
From the Manchester Evening News:
Whether Balotelli is the anonymous donor or not is no longer
important. With his name now attached to the effort to raise money for
the dogs' home, the level of awareness jumps exponentially and many more
donations will probably be made as a result. This is a omniponent power
of his omnipotent reputation.
Mario Balotelli is all around us.
