A look at the cars driven by your favourite footballers

Today’s world is a global village, with the internet giving us knowledge of every possible facet of life. Now, if you’re here, it means you’re interested in, and aspire to own, cars that boast ‘extreme’ – whether in performance, luxury or just beauty – with the only differentiating factor being the ability to actually plonk the moolah for them. But what of premier-class footballers, whose honing of skills have ensured the requisite (and sometimes simply stupendous) renumeration? Yup, they indulge themselves.

So here we list out the various vehicles well-known footballers use to roll up to practice, conveniently categorised by type.

Now, since SUVs are inordinately more popular among celebrities (perhaps to get away from the spying eyes of the paparazzi), that’s what we'll use to kick off the list, starting with:

Cristiano Ronaldo (again) – Rolls-Royce Cullinan

The world’s first (and as yet only) billionaire football player would obviously do his best to set himself apart from the others, something he does with a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. After all, who wouldn’t immediately be distracted by a 5.4-metre, 2.7-tonne white-on-white mountain on wheels?

Kasper Schmeichel – Range Rover Vogue SDV8 SE

When not keeping goal for Liecester City, the Danish footballer likes to chill in his 2018 Land Rover Range Rover Vogue SE. Powered by a 4367cc turbocharged V8 engine making an immodest 335bhp, along with a massive 740Nm, this particular luxury SUV gets to 100kmph in a smidge under 7 seconds.

Wojciech Szczesny – Bentley Bentayga V8

This Polish footballer, also a goalkeeper (albeit for Juventus) is also an SUV lover, and a proud owner of a Bentley Bentayga V8. For its part, the Bentayga one-ups the Rangie, its slightly smaller 3996cc twin-turbo V8 making 542bhp and 770Nm, taking this undoubtedly heavier, and yet more luxurious SUV to 100kmph in a scant 4.5 seconds, and on to an estimated 290kmph top speed.

Granit Xhaka – Mercedes-AMG G65

Belonging to the mountainous country of Switzerland, the Arsenal midfielder naturally gravitated towards a tough, no-nonsense SUV. Hence, he chose the Mercedes-AMG G65, which packs a 6-litre twin-turbo V12 making 621bhp and 1000 (gulp!) nm of peak torque, which is apparently capable of taking this near 2900kg metal brick to 100kmph in 5.3 seconds, and to a top speed of about 230kmph.

Juan Cuadrado, Paulo Dybala, Rodrigo Betancur and Alvaro Morata – Jeep Grand Cherokee / Alex Sandro – Jeep Compass

Considering that Jeep is the title sponsor of the Juventus team, it isn’t a wonder to see the number of players who opt for the ‘company car.’ At any rate, the brand is known for its relatively down-to-earth workhorse nature, characteristics suitably present in both the Compass and Cherokee, both of which are perfectly suited for those who want to get from A to B, without raising suspicions while doing so.

Now, there are a distinct group, that want the presence of an SUV, but without the sky-high centre of gravity and boxy aesthetic. These men go for the compact/coupe SUV. Popular examples include:

Federico Bernardeschi – Porsche Macan

This 26-year-old Juventus midfielder has already garnered praise for his on-field performance. Off the field, though he retires to the comfortable (though not excessively so) interiors of the Porsche Macan, a happy medium between the massive Cayenne and the somewhat restrictive (for the six-foot-one) Italian ‘baller 911. And taking care of the performance itch is the 2-litre turbocharged V6 making 343bhp and 477Nm, if you’re asking.

Cristiano Ronaldo (again)– Mercedes–AMG GLC 63S

CR07 – as his fans readily identify him – has an enviable collection of cars. Sharing space in his garage with the aforementioned Cullinan is this Mercedes–AMG GLE 63S, which combines the coupe SUV looks with a rip-roaring 5.5-litre V6 biturbo engine making 569bhp and 760Nm.

Saloon/coupe

This category of cars suits the more discerning enthusiast, such as:

Aaron Ramsey – Audi A5

The Juventus midfielder zips to and from practice in his Audi A5, whose 2-litre in-line-4 makes 261bhp and 370Nm, quite enough for this 1630kg quattro coupe to get to 100kmph in 5.9 seconds. All this, along with the stealth black colour, ensures he’s inconspicuous at first glance, and can hightail it when spotted.

Pierre-Emerick Abameyang – Porsche Panamera Turbo

The French-Gabonese striker, who heads both the Arsenal club team as well as the Gabon national team clearly knows his cars, and sports a refreshingly refined yet quirky sense of style. Why else would he take a Porsche Panamera Turbo (with a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 instead of the standard Panamera’s 2.9-litre V6), and wrap it in a TechArt chrome finish?

Jamie Vardy – Bentley Continental GT

It seems the Leicester City striker prefers his fast cars with a big dollop of style as well, considering he has eschewed the usual Audis and Beemers to replace the Volkswagen Golf he previously owned and instead chose a Bentley Continental GT, that too painted a deep blue, the same shade as the Liecester City’s home kit.

Now, though we've seen most footballers have flashy cars to complement their on-field personas, there are a few exceptions who prefer a more sensible set of wheels, such as...

Hector Bellerin – Tesla Model S

Taking a detour from the gas-guzzlers his compatriots flaunt, the Spanish wing back – a long time Arsenal member – chose to go the eco-friendly way with a Tesla Model S. Yes, the Tesla may not have not boast of a massive mill under the hood, but the docile (at least at standstill) EV boasts some ludicrous stats of its own. Don’t believe us? How does a 2.4-second 0-100 time, and a top speed of 250kmph sound?