Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has denied being involved in a fight outside an Italian nightclub.
Italian media reported a brawl involving Balotelli, who spent last season on loan at AC Milan, and his brother Enoch.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italy international reacted angrily to racist insults outside a nightclub in Lonato del Garda, near his family home of Brescia.
However, those claims have been rubbished by Balotelli, who wrote on his Instagram account that "newspapers should focus on selling their pages on Italian results and not on FALSE SPECULATION about my private life."
A photo posted by Mario Balotelli (@mb459) on
Balotelli's brother Enoch has also denied reports in the Italian media, which claim the siblings were heavily involved in the incident.
"Nothing happened and there is nothing to say," he told ANSA.
Balotelli's future on the field remains uncertain with Milan choosing not to activate an option they had to make his transfer from Liverpool permanent this summer, after he scored only one Serie A goal for them all season.
The 25-year-old, who has a history of making headlines off the field, is due to return to Liverpool for the start of preseason training in July, with no club reportedly keen on signing him.