Research shows the car footballers own and how many minutes of play it takes to pay for them
The results also show a correlation between the type of cars owned and the position footballers play in.
- Jesus Navas could pay for his Nissan Micra in just 11 minutes of game play
- Chelsea’s John Terry owns the most expensive car, valued at more than approx. $2.5 million
- Midfielders and forwards are more likely to own sports cars than any other vehicle type
- Defenders and goalkeepers are more likely to own SUVs than any other vehicle type
- Cristiano Ronaldo owns the fastest car in the world
Online used car dealership Carspring researched the vehicles driven by more than 250 of the world’s leading football players. With this information, along with the estimated salaries of each player, the online showroom were able to calculate how many minutes of game time each athlete would have to play in order to pay off the value of their vehicle. In addition to this, the study shows an interesting correlation between the vehicle type driven and the player’s position on the field.
In order to find out the vehicles driven by each player along with their estimated salary, hundreds of newspapers, magazines, social media outlets, fan clubs, message boards and other resources were reviewed. Vehicle values were sourced from the country in which the athlete plays, with prices taken from dealerships or, in the case of more unique vehicles, the official sites for each manufacturer.
To calculate the playing time needed to pay for their car, the annual salary of the player excluding bonuses was divided by the number of games played in their respective league. From this, a salary per minute could be calculated.
The five players who could pay for their car in the quickest time are as follows:
| Rank | Player | Team | Car Type | Time Needed (Minutes:Seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesús Navas | Manchester City | Nissan Micra | 11:17 |
| 2 | Carlos Tevez | Shanghai Shenhua | Porsche Panamera Turbo S | 11:35 |
| 3 | N’Golo Kanté | Chelsea | Mini Cooper SD | 12:58 |
| 4 | Fernando Llorente | Swansea City | Fiat Punto | 13:52 |
| 5 | Axel Witsel | Tianjin Quanjian F.C. | Cadillac Escalade | 15:31 |
The five players who would take the longest amount of time to pay for their vehicles are as follows:
| Rank | Player | Team | Car Type | Time Needed (Minutes:Seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 252 | Willard Katsande | Kaizer Chiefs | Nissan 370Z | 16:00:58 |
| 253 | Victor Anichebe | Sunderland A.F.C. | Rolls Royce Phantom | 16:57:09 |
| 254 | Kgotso Moleko | Kaizer Chiefs | BMW 135i Cabriolet | 20:05:58 |
| 255 | Tom Heaton | Burnley F.C. | Range Rover Sport | 22:17:49 |
| 256 | George Boyd | Burnley F.C. | Mercedes 300 SL | 45:40:23 |
The five players with the most expensive cars are:
| Rank | Player | Team | Car Type | Value (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Terry | Chelsea | Ferrari 275 GTB | $2,574,000 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse | $2,251,900 |
| 3 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang | $1,930,545 |
| 4 | Lassana Diarra | Al-Jazira | Bugatti Veyron | $1,544,160 |
| 5 | Andres Iniesta | FC Barcelona | Bugatti Veyron | $1,544,160 |
Further Insights:
- Out of the ten players with the most expensive cars, five play in midfield and four in attack
- Out of the ten players with the cheapest cars, four are defenders and two are goalkeepers
- George Boyd of Burnley would need to play for 45 hours, 40 minutes and 23 seconds to pay for his Range Rover Sport, the longest of any duration on the list
- Swansea’s Fernando Llorente has the least expensive car out of all the players included, with his Fiat Punto valued at approx. £10,245.
- John Terry is the only player in the list whose market value is less than the value of their car
- 100 of the 256 players researched could pay off the value of their vehicle within the 90 minutes it takes to play one game.
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