Well, not really; he took a selfie standing quite some distance behind the pope.
The Italian club A.C Milan, who counts amongst their squad members Balotelli and Kevin-Prince Boateng, paid a visit to the Pope in Rome Friday, ahead of the side’s Italian Cup final game against Kwadwo Asamoah’s Juventus on Saturday.
The Holy Father, a staunch football fan, admonished both sides to uphold the positive values the game brings, such as harmony, trust, friendship and dialogue.
After the meeting, Mario Balotelli and teammate Jose Mauri stood behind the Pope, who was still exchanging pleasantries with others, and took a selfie.
“Thank you for the blessing, it is always a pleasure,” the Italo-Ghanaian captioned the photo.
Ghanaian internationals Boateng and Asamoah can also be spotted in the group photos each side took with the Catholic Church head.
View photos below…