'Why always me?' - Mario Balotelli and the best T-shirt celebration statements made by footballers.

From Robbie Fowler's solidarity with Liverpool dockworkers to Andres Iniesta's emotional World Cup tribute to Dani Jarque, plenty of stars have used shirts to get a message across

Manchester City went about making a collective statement of intent with their 6-1 hammering of Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, but it was a personal message from Mario Balotelli that got the ball rolling for Roberto Mancini's men at the Theatre of Dreams.

As a footballer with an almost innate ability to attract headlines on both the front and back pages of the press, it was fitting for the Italian to question his critics in the printed word. After his wonderfully taken 22nd minute strike to break the deadlock, the former Inter man turned and lifted his jersey to reveal a sky blue shirt reading 'Why always me?' - no doubt a nod to the brewing media storm prior to the match after it was revealed that he had set fire to his house in the early hours of Saturday morning.

It was the latest in a long line of occasions that a player has used a message on a shirt to make a point. Below is a list of the most memorable instances.

RED ROBBIE BACKS THE DOCKERS

There was little more Robbie Fowler, otherwise known as God in Liverpool, could do to increase his popularity in the red half Merseyside during the 1990s but his showing of solidarity with striking dockworkers in the city in a European Cup Winners’ Cup win against Brann in March 1997 only served to cement the striker as a Kop hero.

Originally from Toxteth, an area synonymous with the city’s docking community, Fowler unveiled a T-shirt with a fake Calvin Klein logo that read: 'Support the 500 Sacked Dockers'. The forward received a fine worth 2,000 Swiss Francs (£1,400) for his actions.

RECORD-BREAKING WRIGHT GETS IT WRONG

Ever the entertainer, there was no way that Ian Wright was going to celebrate breaking Arsenal’s all-time goalscoring record quietly, but his excitement was to get the better of him at Highbury.

After reaching Cliff Bastin’s total of 178 strikes for the Gunners with a goal against Bolton, Wright lifted his shirt to reveal another, made by Nike, stating: '179 – Just Done It,' despite only equalling the tally. However, another goal shortly after meant that he was able to celebrate properly and he then topped it off with a third to complete his hat-trick. The ex-England striker would go on to reach 185 goals for the Gunners before moving on to join West Ham.

HENRY REMEMBERS HIS ROOTS

So often used as a stick to beat critics with or as a political proclamation, such shirts have been worn by a number of players, but it is with Thierry Henry with whom they've become synonymous. 

Another former Arsenal striker, Alan Smith, explained the decision of the Frenchman to display a top making an entirely personal reference to his father's native Guadeloupe, and the island's surrounding area in the Caribbean, stating in The Telegraph: "The message on his T-shirt,`For the West Indies', was a reminder to far-flung relations that he had not forgotten his roots."

It was unveiled in the Gunners' 3-1 win over Manchester United at Highbury in 2001, only a couple of seasons into his time at Arsenal. Six years later and with 226 goals, Henry left north London with Ian Wright's record beaten and as arguably the club's greatest ever player.

MESSI MAKES HIS MARK

Lionel Messi may be the greatest player on Earth but his humility is obvious both on the pitch and off it, as was evidenced in one of the Argentine’s greatest ever performances. In Barcelona’s now famous 6-2 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009, he revealed a shirt reading 'Sindrome X Fragil', the name of a medical condition known in English as Fragile X Syndrome, that leads to emotional, mental and physical problems for its sufferers.

The Camp Nou superstar later explained that he had spent a day with children suffering from the syndrome prior to the game and in the biggest fixture in club football across the world, the diminutive attacker was able to give a relatively unknown issues a huge amount of coverage.

MARCO THE MENACE TAUNTS JUVE

If Balotelli is Manchester City's provocateur-in-chief, then it's possible that the Italian learnt a few tricks in infuriating his opponents from former Inter team-mate Marco Materazzi. 

As the Italian side secured a historic treble under Jose Mourinho with a Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich in May 2010, the defender, who came on as a substitute in on the 92nd minute substitute, felt compelled to rub his side's success in the faces of their derby d'Italia rivals Juventus.

Wearing a T-shirt with a picture of the defender holding the Champions League trophy and the words 'Do you want this too?', in reference to Juventus' request for Inter to be stripped of their 2005-06 Serie A title as a result of match-fixing allegations that formed part of the Italian football's Calciopoli scandal.

INIESTA REMEMBERS DANI JARQUE

Likely to go down in the annuls of history as the most poignant celebration of any World Cup final goal, the Barcelona man celebrated his winning strike against the Dutch in the South Africa 2010 showpiece by lifting his shirt to reveal a vest with the message ‘Dani Jarque: Always with us’, in memory of the Espanyol defender who tragically died of a heart attack in 2009.

It was fitting that the midfielder, dubbed the ‘anti-Galactico’ by Camp Nou socios due to his unassuming nature, would detract attention away from himself under the biggest spotlight in the game. 

Six months later, the midfielder received the adoration of the Espanyol crowd as Pep Guardiola’s men won 5-1 in a fierce local derby at the Cornella-El Prat stadium and in July this year, the vest was put on display at the ground of Barca’s Catalan rivals.

FIREWORKS FROM BALOTELLI

Mysterious, misunderstood and on the back of an exquisite finish, the 'Why always me' T-shirt summed everything about Mario Balotelli up.

Quite clearly aggrieved with the often undeserved negative attention that comes his way from the media, the young Italian stood defiantly in the face of those that had criticised him in the lead up to the derby at Old Trafford. News that he had set fire to his house by setting off fireworks in his bathroom on Friday night had led many to question the man who has now scored six goals in five games. 

Just like the scoreline at the final whistle and the printing on his shirt, Balotelli's answer was loud and clear.