Online used car dealership Carspring have 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.

“At Carspring the one thing we love as much as cars is football. The fact players drive amazing cars was to be expected; nevertheless, it is very interesting that there are correlations between their position in the pitch and the type of car they drive”, said Carspring’s Co-founder Maximilian Vollenbroich.

The five players who could pay for their car in the quickest time are as follows:

The five players who would take the longest amount of time to pay for their vehicles are as follows:

The five players with the most expensive cars are:

Full results can be viewed here: www.carspring.co.uk/footballers-and-their-cars/ 

In addition to the results above, the position in which an athlete plays appears to have an effect on the type of vehicle he will buy. As shown in the graphic below, players who play in defensive positions on the pitch have a higher chance of owning an SUV, whilst those up-front own the, arguably flashier, sports cars.

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 £14,750
• 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.

   

Full results can be viewed here: www.carspring.co.uk/footballers-and-their-cars/