The advantages of being a premiership footballer are endless but one of the best is that they can choose from any of the worlds best cars. If you had the choice of any car to drive which one would you choose?

As you may have noticed, there’s quite a bit of money to be made by playing professional football. Top Premier League footballers rake in salaries so big that spending them is a full-time job in itself. Inevitably, some of that cash goes on lavish houses and some of it goes on questionable wardrobe choices but it’s the luxurious, jaw-dropping cars footballers buy that we’re looking at here.

Nuts magazine did extensive research with Premier League insiders to compile a list of footballers’ favourite cars. What follows, in reverse order, is a list of the top 10 vehicles that the Premier League’s elite stars spend their hard-earned wealth on.

10th – Chevrolet Camaro
A slightly strange one to kick off this list, Chevrolet’s Camaro isn’t the kind of mega-money supercar we usually associate with footballers. It could be yours for just £40,000 but with 312hp and a 0-60mph sprint of 5.4s it’s no slouch.

Chevrolet’s sponsorship deal with Manchester United probably contributes to the number of Camaros in the hands of Premier League players but non-United stars like Petr Cech and Tom Huddlestone also have a soft spot for some American muscle. As does David Beckham who’s pictured in his Camaro.

9th – Audi R8
Audi launched itself into the performance car big league with its mid-engined R8 and the footballers were immediately keen. It offers the choice of V8 or V10 models, the latter with over 500hp and a £110,000 price tag. R8 owners include Micah Richards, David Silva and Theo Walcott. Ex-Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt is shown here with his R8.

8th – Lamborghini Gallardo
Italian, exotic and devastatingly quick, the Lamborghini Gallardo has clear appeal for any young man with £150,000 sloshing about in his bank account. Stars such as Ashley Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Wayne Rooney own Gallardos and David Beckham is pictured in his Real Madrid days having just arrived at training in his.

7th – Ferrari 458 Italia
The beautiful Ferrari 458 Italia is a masterpiece of modern sports car design. The £170,000 price tag doesn’t deter football’s top earners and the likes of Mesut Özil, Jack Wilshere and Frank Lampard have got their hands on the 202mph machine.

6th – Porsche Panamera
Porsche’s Panamera four-door is a little more practical than the German marque’s famous 911 sports car but it can be almost as potent if you opt, as most footballers do, for the range-topping versions. Romelu Lukaku, Daniel Sturridge and Vincent Kompany all own Panameras. John Terry is pictured in his.

5th – Bentley Continental GT
A lot of people would pick this as the archetypal footballers’ car. The Bentley Continental GT can launch the average journeyman centre-half to nigh on 200mph with its twin-turbocharged W12 engine, all the time cosseting him in a classy leather-bound cabin. Mario Balotelli, Gael Clichy and Steven Gerrard have all experienced it in action while our picture of a youthful John Terry with his car shows the Conti GT phenomena is nothing new.

4th – Aston Martin DB9
Aston Martin builds a whole range of cars that are perfect footballer fodder but it seems that the DB9 is the one with the strongest appeal. Gareth Barry, James Milner and Darren Bent are all said to be in the DB9 club, entrance to which starts at £130,000. Pictured is El Hadji Diouf with his Aston.

3rd – Audi Q7
Even by luxury 4×4 standards, Audi’s Q7 is on the large side. It’s not the most nimble machine available to the modern footballer but feels, solid, safe and has the car park gravitas to make the team coach look inadequate. There’s a 4.2-litre V8 diesel engine with 589lb ft of torque that’s a snip for Premier League stars at £60,000. Bacary Sagna, Nani and Fernando Torres are all in the Q7 club. This picture shows David Beckham in his Q7.

2nd – Porsche Cayenne
Another luxury SUV takes second spot in our list. It’s the Porsche Cayenne as favoured by Patrice Evra, Robin van Persie and Scott Parker. Around £60,000 can net you a high-spec Cayenne but the football community often goes to specialist tuning companies to get super-powerful, extra-bling versions custom-made. Niklas Bendtner is shown out shopping with his matt grey Cayenne.

1st – Range Rover Sport
And so we come to our champion, not the full-blown Range Rover but its junior sibling, the more youthful and energetic Range Rover Sport. Apparently, top footballers buy this £50,000 car more than any other, with Jermain Defoe, Frank Lampard and Ryan Giggs all having succumbed to its charms. Jamie Carragher (pictured) definitely seems happy with his old model but most of today’s stars are driving the brand new version that launched this year

 

www.cars.uk.msn.com and Nuts Magazine.