Now, Balotelli wants to 'gun down' his haters!

AC Milan and Italy forward Mario Balotelli reportedly wooed more controversy after he posted a picture of himself pointing a gun at the camera.

Balotelli posted the picture on the social media website Instagram with a message reading 'a big kiss to all the haters'.

Balotelli has been involved in a series of controversies and has also been a target of racist abuse, The BBC reported.

The striker, who joined AC Milan from Manchester City in 2013, recently faced criticism for his performance in the World Cup.

In the latest incident, the image was taken down but AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani was less than pleased and said that he has his own ideas about social networks and has tried many times but the club's lawyer has always stopped him, saying that it would violate individual rights.

Galliani added that in contracts it's written what players can and cannot do, but the club cannot do anything regarding the players' private lives.

Balotelli has reportedly been the centre of several controversies over the years.

In 2010, the striker fired air pistols in Milan's Piazza della Repubblica and in 2011 Manchester City officials launched an investigation after the Italian threw a dart towards a youth team player at the club's training ground, the report added.