As Cristiano Ronaldo dominates the headlines after crashing his 205mph Ferrari, Adrian Hearn gives you the ultimate lowdown on Thursday’s incident.

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has knocked the credit crunch and Middle-East problems off the front pages after writing off his £200,000 Ferrari 599 in a Manchester tunnel.

Despite the front of Ronaldo’s car being badly damaged, the Portuguese star emerged from the wreck without any serious injuries.

After answering police inquiries at the scene, Ronaldo, 23, was then driven to training in a Bentley by United goalie Edwin Van der Sar who was reported to have been travelling behind the winger at the time of the crash.

The multi-millionaire footballer was later spotted leaving United’s training ground in his £150,000 Bentley Continental GT Speed which he bought in September during a couple of crazy months when he was involved in nearly £700,000 of automotive transactions.

THE CRASH

The crash happened on the A538 which takes traffic under the Manchester Airport runways between Wilmslow and Hale.

The 23-year-old's red Ferrari struck a metal hand-rail which guards an emergency exit door in the tunnel.

Skid marks were clearly visible at the scene of the crash and one of the wheels came off.

As a result the road was temporarily closed.

Greater Manchester Police said in a statement on Thursday: "At about 10.20am police were called to the A538 Wilmslow Road near to Manchester Airport following reports of a road traffic collision.

"Officers attended and discovered a Ferrari had collided with a barrier.”

The Ferrari was then loaded onto a recovery truck covered in a black sheet, as the road was reopened.

THE CAR

Ronaldo was behind the wheel of a left-hand drive Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, regarded by many as being the world’s best grand tourer – a car designed to combine power and comfort for long continental journeys.

Described by Jeremy Clarkson as ‘biblically, stratospherically, crushingly brilliant’ the Ferrari 599 is a technological tour-de-force, stealing mechanical components seen in the Prancing Horse’s F1 car.

Under the bonnet is a 6-litre V12 engine which has had 612bhp shoehorned in to deliver 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a v-max of 205mph.

It gets 20-inch alloys on the rear to channel the power to the rear while the 19-inch alloys at the front can house a pair of 392mm carbon ceramic discs for awesome stopping power.

That’s 15.7-inch front brakes – larger than the wheels found on a basic Ford Focus.

The standard cost for a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is £180,000 (£184,000 for one with an F1 gearbox) but £130,000-a-week Ronaldo would have most likely splashed out on extras such as £11,500 brakes, £2,000 Bose sound system and £4,000 matching luggage.

RON MAN AND HIS CARS

Ronaldo has an amazing car collection – but the Portuguese star is no ordinary person.

In the past year, the Man United star has won the Premiership, Champions League, World Club Championship, scored a bag of goals and be named Barclay’s  Premiership, UEFA, World and FIFPro Player of the Year along with the Ballon D’or – widely regarded as the ultimate individual accolade for a footballer.

This has brought endorsements galore and a whopping salary thought to be in between £110,000 and £130,000 – and he’s believed to have spent in excess of £1.3 million on cars over the past few years.

This includes (prices without any options added)
Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe - £350,000
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano - £180,000
Bentley Continental GTC - £133,000
Bentley Continental GT Speed - £138,000
Audi R8 - £82,000
BMW M6 - £82,000
Two Porsche Cayenne Turbos - £150,000
Porsche 911 Cabriolet - £80,000
Registration plate CR7: £150,000
Total: £1,345,000

It’s also been reported that Ronaldo was so impressed with the Bugatti Veyron after racing one in a commercial that he put his name down on the waiting list for the £830,000 hypercar.

WHAT THE PRESS HAS REPORTED

Ronaldo’s off the back pages and on to the front with the story big news on Fleet Street and the Internet. Here’s what the papers have been saying:

The Sun –‘ello Ron, gotta new motor?
The Sun had a picture of the smashed car on its front page with the headline ‘‘ello Ron, gotta new motor?’ with coverage on page four and five.
It says Ronaldo bought the Ferrari, with all the extras, from a Portugal dealership last month with the car delivered to him on Tuesday.

Read The Sun's story

The Times – Ronaldo heads the all-star team who just have to be Bentley boys
The Times took the angle of Ronaldo being driven to training in team-mate Edwin Van Der Sar’s Bentley after the crash before driving home the same night in his own Bentley. The rest of the article refers to ‘no fewer than seven current (United) players and their manager having been seen behind the wheel of a Bentley.

Read the full story

The Telegraph – Ronaldo write-off
As with The Times, the Telegraph focussed on Ronaldo’s other car with the sub-headline ‘Manchester United star drives home in the Bentley after his Ferrari is wrecked’. On its website is the story ‘Cristiano Ronaldo skidded on oil before crash’ with ‘A source close to his family telling Portuguese newspaper Corrieo da Manha: "He said the crash was caused by moisture and oil on the road."’

Read the full story

BBC Online – Ronaldo to be quizzed by police
According to BBC Online, ‘Cristiano Ronaldo is to be questioned by police after he crashed his Ferrari in a tunnel near Manchester Airport’.

Read the full story

Sky News – Ronaldo faces Ferrari crash probe
According to Sky News, Cristiano Ronaldo is waiting to learn if he will be formerly questioned by police after crashing his Ferrari.

Read the full story

WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?

As if a £200,000 supercar smash isn’t bad enough, Ronaldo faces Chelsea this weekend at Old Trafford in one of the most important games of the season as the two clubs chase Liverpool at the Premiership’s summit.

With Chelsea one of Man United’s fiercest rivals, it’s likely the away fans will try to wind the winger up with a host of songs. The Sun has already come up with these two crackers:

“Ron, Ron, wherever he may be, I heard he crashed his Ferrari,
“But he won’t worry about the repair fee, because he’s still got his flash Bentley.”

And

“Que Sera Sera
“Ronaldo’s smashed his brand new car,
“But he was helped by Van der Sar,
“Que Sera Sera “

Expect Ronaldo to start looking for his next purchase shortly – and there’s no shortage of supercars going on sale this year including:

Audi R8 V10
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder (slide show below)
Aston Martin One-77
Aston Martin Rapide
Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M
Ferrari California
Nissan GT-R

But if The Guardian is anything to go buy Ronaldo may be in for a shock. The Guardian has spoken to the AA who said: "We cannot find anybody who would touch him with a bargepole.

"The minimum age to get insured for that car would be 25 (Ronaldo is 23) and then the best price we could find would be £44,000 but if the person had had an accident that would go up to around £100,000."

So he may have to go back to his first car – a Seat Ibiza.

Check this video of one of Ronaldo's old cars, the Audi R8 in action:

Read the full Guardian story

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