National Football League

Ocho tweets request for Balotelli jersey

Published Nov. 21, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco expressed his admiration for Mario Balotelli by tweeting the controversial soccer star's club Manchester City and asking for a signed jersey.

Ochocinco asked his 2.9 million followers on the social networking site if anyone knew where he could get Balotelli's jersey and autograph.

He later tweeted Manchester City directly, writing, "Excuse me, can you please send me a signed Balotelli jersey, game worn preferably so I can frame it. Thank you in advance."

The striker -- dubbed "Super Mario" by fans -- will now send a signed jersey and a video message to his new fan, the Manchester Evening News reported.

Balotelli, who has been no stranger to controversy during his time in the English Premier League, hit the headlines last month when his house caught fire after a firework went off in his bathroom.

Ochocinco is also no stranger to raising eyebrows with his off-pitch behavior -- in 2008 he changed his last name from Johnson to match his Cincinnati Bengals jersey number. Then after he was traded by the Bengals to the Patriots in the summer, he asked fans to put him up while he settled into his new surroundings.