Top 10 Footballers' car crashes - Rooney, Ronaldo, Balotelli escaping injury!
Most top flight footballers drive flash, high powered supercars that match their wage packets; however they don’t all have the same control behind a wheel that they seem to have with a ball at their feet. We look at the top 10 footballer’s car crashes, the majority of which were total write offs.
10: Diego Maradona crashes into a bus!
Widely regarded as one of; if not the best player ever, Diego Maradona has never been a stranger to controversy, so it was hardly a surprise to hear he had been involved in a smash. Travelling the wrong way down a dual carriageway in Cuba in the dark, Diego effectively played chicken with oncoming traffic, until his jeep hit a tourist bus. No one was hurt, and Diego was allowed to return to the hotel where he was receiving treatment for drug abuse.
9: David Bentley vs. the lamppost.
Once touted as the successor to David Beckham; David Bentley went out drinking, and decided to drive himself home. He crashed his Porsche 911 Turbo into a lamppost, and was subsequently banned from driving for one year. Bentley released a statement apologising for his actions, also adding “I am thankful that nobody was injured in the accident."
8: Super Mario shunts his Audi R8
Only a few weeks after signing for Man City from Inter Milan, Italian Mario Balotelli crashed his customised £120k Audi R8 into a BMW in Manchester, luckily both drivers were unharmed in the crash however the front of his car had quite a bit of damage to it:
7: Jermaine Pennant jailed for drink driving
Jermaine Pennant crashed Mercedes into a lamppost, and was given a 3 month jail term for drink driving, along with being banned from driving at the time and having no insurance. Pennant also pretended to be team mate Ashley Cole when asked for his name by the police! His alcohol reading was 85 micrograms per 100ml of breath, nearly 3 times legal limit of 35 micrograms.
He was released early having served a month behind bars, although he had to wear an electronic tag at all times.
Whilst playing for Liverpool, Pennant was the victim of a ram raid attack on his house, when thieves were trying to steal his expensive cars: “At first I thought it was my dogs making a racket and then I got up and I've seen headlights at my gate trying to smash through.”
6: Didi Hamann runs away from car crash
On Halloween night in 2006, Liverpool legend Hamann ran for a mile and a half to get away from the scene of his crash when he put his £70k Porsche Carrera into a fence near Manchester airport. Police found him running at 3am dressed in a dinner suit and smelling of alcohol, and decided to question him. He said he had been at a local pub, which had happened to close 3 hours earlier. He lost his licence for six months as a result.
Didi was again in the news in February of this year, when he appeared in court for apparently being “too drunk to control his car”. Police pulled Hamann over near the M56, after he had been driving at excess speeds and clipped the kerb 3 times, along with swerving between lanes. Police said in court that Hamann smelt of alcohol and his eyes were glazed over, and when they asked if he had any sharp objects; Didi jokingly replied “Yes, a knife, which is now in my car”.
In court, Hamann told the judge he needed the toilet when he was driving home, and claimed “'Everyone knows how hard it is to stop when you need a wee,''. Didi was given a 12 month driving ban and fined £1,990.
5: Nicklas Bendtner walks away unharmed from horror smash
Bendtner somehow miraculously escaped with just minor injuries when he completely annihilated his £150k Aston Martin into a tree on his way to training on a Sunday morning. Police confirmed a black vehicle ‘left the road’; although from the picture below it looks like it did a lot more than just leave the road. Thomas Bendtner (his father) said “ Nicklas has been training by himself on a bike in order to be careful and watch out, he is badly shaken and has some bruises, but knows he was very lucky.'
The crash happened just a few miles away from where David Bentley crunched his Porsche into a lamppost a month earlier.
4: Benzema writes off his Flamboyant yellow Lamborghini
Real Madrid striker was celebrating his birthday on Reunion Island, where was racing a Porsche through the streets managed to crash his yellow Lamborghini Gallardo as a result, damaging the front right wing of the car.
It is not the first time Benzema has escaped unscathed from a crash; he drove his Audi Q7 into a wall in Madrid.
3: Wayne Rooney destroys his supercars
England & Man Utd forward Wayne Rooney has had plenty of crashes in his time, having written off a £170k Aston Martin, a £65k Range Rover, and driving his £40 Escalade into a lorry!
After all of these crashes, I’m surprised anyone would even give him a quote for insurance, he’d probably have to use moneysupermarket to find an insurer who will cover him.
Also, when driving his Lamborghini Gallardo (similar to the one seen below) to a restaurant in Manchester, he lost control and ended up facing oncoming traffic on the A6 in Macclesfield.
2: Anderson pulled from wrecked R8
Manchester Utd midfielder Anderson was unconscious when his £120k Audi R8 exploded in Portugal after a night out at the Sardinha Biba nightclub. There were mixed reports on how the crash happened, but the car was totally destroyed as he was dragged from the wreckage. Almeno Antunes, a witness of the crash said: "I saw a cloud of smoke ahead of me. The car was unable to straighten up after a slight bend and went into the field and caught fire. I thought he was dead. My brother dragged him out."
Anderson was lucky to be alive, and was treated for concussion and whiplash.
1: Ronaldo’s £200k Ferrari tunnel crash
The world’s most expensive player, now at Real Madrid as part of the new ‘Galacticos’ era, Cristiano Ronaldo totalled his Ferrari 599 GTB on his way to training for Manchester United. Former team mate Edwin Van Der Sar was driving Ronaldo and saw the crash take place, and kindly gave him a lift to training once the Police had finished at the scene.
A video showing Ronaldo’s wrecked Ferrari can be seen here:
Ashley Cole makes a guest appearance on our list, having nearly crashed when he found out he was ‘only’ being offered £55,000 per week on his new contract. His agent called him in his car with the truly heartbreaking news: “I’m here in the office and David Dein is saying they aren’t going to give you £60k a week. They’ve agreed £55k and this is their best and final offer. Are you happy with that?”
Ashley Cole’s take on this was: “When I heard Jonathan (Barnett) repeat the figure of £55k, I nearl
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