AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli hastily deleted a message he posted on social media with a picture of a gun aimed at his critics.
The controversial former Manchester City attacker made the deadly weapon his Instagram profile photograph and added the message: “A kiss to those who hate me.”
It was removed within minutes but was online long enough to cause a media frenzy in Italy, with Tutto Mercato Web claiming it is an embarrassment to Milan.
His blunder came only hours after head coach Filippo Inzaghi had given the 23-year-old fresh hope of remaining at the San Siro beyond this summer, despite strong interest from Arsenal.
It is thought that the player was reacting angrily to criticism that has come his way since Italy’s premature exit from the World Cup in the group stage.
He headed the winner in a 2-1 victory over England, but performed poorly in successive 1-0 defeats to Costa Rica and Uruguay which culminated in elimination.
The enigmatic hitman, who left City at the start of 2013, still has three years remaining on his contract with Milan.
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal have cooled their interest in securing his services, in light of their £30million acquisition of forward Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona.