Mario Balotelli followed me home, talked footie on our sofa...then badgered me for a date (THE SUN)

Footie ace stalks teen beauty

Who are ya ... Lauren didn't recognise Balo

Jim Clarke/The Sun

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By EMMA FOSTER

Last Updated: 29th May 2012

A STUNNED teenager told last night how madcap footie ace Mario Balotelli secretly followed her home — then begged her for a DATE.

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Waitress Lauren Thorne, 19, did not recognise the Man City star when he pitched up at her house after spotting her as she drove back from work.
And she was shocked when he declared: “I just saw you and wondered if I could take you out.”
She was about to slam the door in his face when her City fan uncle recognised Mario, 21, and invited him into their two-bed terrace home.
The Italian striker then spent 20 minutes on the sofa chatting about football — while still trying to persuade Lauren into going out with him. She said last night: “I just thought he was some guy trying it on. I couldn’t believe it when I realised who he was. I thought it was a bit weird and slightly stalkerish.
“I suppose it was quite flattering to be asked out — but when he knocked on the door I really didn’t know who he was.

Blue are ya ... Mario with uncle Steve and gran

“He didn’t tell me his name or how he knew where I lived. I was slightly freaked out.” Smitten Balo — who was dating stunning model Raffaella Fico, 24, at the time — saw Lauren as she drove home in her Renault Clio from her job at The Old Rectory Hotel in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
He followed her in his new black BMW Z9 before knocking on her front door at around 8pm. Lauren — still in her work uniform of black trousers. black top and name badge — was about to send him packing when her uncle Steve McCauley, 50, came bounding out.

Striker ... Balotelli

Lauren — who earns the minimum wage compared with Mario’s £100,000 a week — said: “My uncle said: ‘My God it is Mario Balotelli.’
“Then he invited him in. We were all in shock. It was very surreal. It’s not every day that a millionaire footballer knocks on your door.
“We went into the living room and he sat down on the sofa with my uncle to talk about football.
“But every now and then Mario would turn to me and ask again if I would go out on a date with him.

Motoring ... Lauren with her car

Jim Clarke/The Sun

“He asked me three times and each time I politely said no to him.
“I knew he had a girlfriend and I have no interest in going out with a footballer and being a WAG.”
Relaxed Mario posed for a picture with Steve and Lauren’s gran in the kitchen. He also played with the teenager’s dog Roxy.
Aspiring singer Lauren — who has been short-listed for the latter stages of this year’s The X Factor — went on: “We offered Mario something to eat or drink but he didn’t have anything.

Sporty ... BMW Z9

“He did ask to use the toilet though — which I found quite funny. While he was upstairs we were all just sat there in shock.
“All I kept thinking was, ‘Oh my God is this really happening?’
“But he was really nice and friendly with everyone.”
It is not the first time Mario has made a beeline for a girl in a car. The Sun revealed last month how he bedded Wayne Rooney hooker Jenny Thompson after pulling up beside her in his white Bentley at a red light.

Date ... Balo begged Lauren Thorne to go out with him