Strikers love sports cars, defenders love SUVs

It’s no secret that football stars love expensive and fast cars. An analysis by German online store Autodoc on the occasion of the World Cup, which started in Qatar, shows which cars are particularly popular with professionals and how vehicle types vary significantly depending on the location of the players.

Using publicly available sources such as newspaper reports or social media posts, Autodoc has compiled the favorite cars of 305 current and former national team players from 45 countries. In the case of players with several cars – probably the rule rather than the exception – the most expensive car model was taken into account in the assessment.

ferrari, lambo, porsche

First finding: The more boisterous the players appear on the field, the faster they are on the road. For example, forwards and midfielders prefer sports cars: 38 percent of offensive players have a model designed for driving dynamics. France’s national striker Antoine Griezmann (31) has a McLaren 675LT parked as a top model in his garage, Portugal’s João Félix (23) has a Ferrari 488 GTB and Poland’s star striker Robert Lewandowski (34) has a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta .

Sports cars are even more popular with midfielders, who own a sporty speedster almost every second. Two German stars Leon Goretzka (27) and Mario Götze (30) each rely on Mercedes – especially the AMG GT V8 biturbo and SL 500. But sports car brands Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche are also well represented in the ranking. midfielders But there are exceptions: Spanish winger Jesús Navas (36), for example, is said to be modestly confident in the small car Nissan Micra.

Goalkeepers want space

Vehicle selection for rear positions is slightly different. According to the survey, more than a third of the world’s best goalkeepers prefer SUVs. For example, Dane Kasper Schmeichel (36) usually drives a Range Rover Sport, while his Polish counterpart Wojciech Szczęsny (32) drives a Porsche Cayenne with its striking “Lumma Design”.

Another 44 percent own a Grand Tourer, which is characterized by greater comfort, larger interior space and greater suitability for everyday use compared to pure sports cars. For example, German world goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (36) relies on the sporty Audi RS6 Avant family station wagon, while his French counterpart Hugo Lloris (35) relies on the Mercedes CLS 500. Unlike their forward and midfield counterparts, goalkeepers don’t seem to care much. A lot about sports cars: Only 4 percent of them are traveling with a thoroughbred athlete, according to analysis.

Terry’s Ferrari collection

As with goalkeepers, big cars are very popular with defenders: 36 percent of defenders, including Dutch Virgil van Dijk (31, Mercedes-AMG G63), France’s Theo Hernandez (25, Lamborghini Urus) and Croatia’s Dejan Lovren (33). Most of them are using SUVs (Mercedes GLE Coupe).

Even more defenders, 37 percent prefer grand tourers, while only a fifth of the world’s best defenders drive sports cars. The big exception is England defense legend John Terry (41), who crowned his Ferrari collection with a historic Ferrari 275 GTB worth over two million francs.

Between extravagance and humility

Our Swiss national team stars also like to travel in very expensive and very fast cars, as we reported at last year’s European Championship. Breel Embolo (25) shamelessly relies on the Mercedes-AMG G 63, which is also popular with Qatari sheikhs, and two midfielders Xherdan Shaqiri (31) and Denis Zakaria (25) likewise rely on a flashy SUV. 650 hp Lamborghini Urus. Striker Haris Seferovic (30) is no less fast in the Porsche Panamera Turbo S.

According to the analysis, the same car also flashed in the garage of Arsenal star Granit Xhaka (30) – this year he drove to Naticamp in a VW van in Bad Ragaz SG. And regular goalkeeper Yann Sommer (33) prefers to show off his qualifications rather than off-pitch, and can often be seen in a vehicle from sponsor VW – as last year, he traveled to Eastern Switzerland with the electric SUV ID.4 GTX.

1st place Bentley

Mercedes is by far the most popular car brand among the top international players: 71 of the 305 athletes analyzed drive a car of the brand with a star on the hood. According to the analysis, the most popular models of Mercedes are the G 63 AMG and C 63 AMG. The most popular car model among all brands is the Bentley Continental GT, and 24 players are said to have driven it, including top stars Kylian Mbappe (23), Romelu Lukaku (29) and Mohamed Salah (30). ).

South American stars Lionel Messi (35) and Neymar (30) prefer to rely on Ferrari with the F430 Spider and 458 Spider. What about Portugal’s superstar Ronaldo (37)? Like France’s star striker Karim Benzema (34), he travels with the Bugatti Veyron, among other things. Because Ronaldo’s million-dollar fleet needs his own analysis (and you can find it here: CR7’s incredible car collection). A full list of all analyzed players can be found at this link.