FORMER Chelsea star Michael Ballack is set to sell his ultra-rare Ferrari for a whopping £14million.
Ballack, 47, bought the car 16 years ago during his time at Stamford Bridge.
He made the investment after forming a close friendship with Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, who drove for Ferrari at the time.
The 250 GT SWB California Spider has a top speed of 145mph and boasts a 0-60mph time of 7.2 seconds.
It is set to be auctioned for up to £14m – more than double Ballack’s total transfer fees.
The ex-midfielder kicked off his career in 1995 and joined Kaiserslautern in a £60,000 transfer two years later.
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He then joined Bayer Leverkusen in a £2.1m move before Bayern Munich snapped him up for £5.1m.
Ballack joined Chelsea on a free transfer in 2006 and spent four years in west London.
The former Germany international ended his career back at Leverkusen following another free move.
His transfer fees totalled just over £7m.
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Ballack also made 98 appearances for Germany, scoring 42 goals.
He is now looking to sell his beloved Ferrari at an auction in California.
An RM Sotheby’s spokesperson said: “Not very often do you come across a car that checks all the boxes of what makes an automobile exceptionally collectable like this California Spider does.
“As an icon amongst icons, it holds a unique place in Ferrari history as the very first 250 GT SWB California Spider ever built and holds remarkable provenance as Ferrari’s factory show car at the 1960 Geneva Motor Show.
“Its current owner, German football star Michael Ballack, has cherished and maintained it for the past 16 years.
“Ballack, at the peak of his career, developed a close friendship with fellow German athlete legendary Formula 1 Driver Michael Schumacher and through this friendship Ballack’s passion for driving and Ferrari as a brand deepened.
“Not only for contemporary models, but also for the best examples of classic Ferraris.”
Boehly’s record would make even Abramovich blush… we’re back to square one
HERE we go again.
Just when some positivity was building around the place and an optimistic eye was being cast to the future, Clearlake Capital go hurtling full pelt back to the drawing board, write SunSport’s Tom Sheen.
Mauricio Pochettino leaving will make it six different managers in less than two years when next season rolls around, a record that would make Roman Abramovich blush.
But while the oligarch was keeping Chelsea’s HR department busy by regularly handing out P45s, he was also regularly delivering world class players in the hope of delivering instant silverware.
There was no ‘Vision 2030’, talk of players as financial assets or ridiculous eight-year contracts that potentially hamstring the club.
Hiring and firing worked under the previous regime because Chelsea had a spine of world class talent that they were always looking to improve upon – not a group of players who look light years away from the top teams in the land.
One thing is for sure, though. If Clearlake carry on down this road they’ll need a rebrand to Vision 2060.
Click here to read Tom’s damning verdict in full…
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
