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Soccer Player Crashes His McLaren, Wants Another One Because He Really Loves It

A lot of celebrities and athletes want to own the most powerful and expensive vehicles out there – the supercars show status and they’re really fun to drive. But those who get behind the wheel don’t always have the skills to handle them well. Brazilian soccer player Paulinho totaled his car after losing control and crashing into a tree in his native Ceilandia, Brazil.
Paulinho's Crashed McLaren 7 photos
Photo: Marca
McLaren 600LTMcLaren 600LTMcLaren 600LTMcLaren 600LTPaulinho's Crashed McLarenPaulinho's Crashed McLaren
Paulo Henrique Soares dos Santos, known as Paulinho, is a soccer player who starred at Cordoba, was on loan at FC Porto, and is currently under Shanghai Port’s payroll in the Chinese Super League. The 27-year old has a net worth estimated at $12 million, which allows him to live comfortably and afford a lot of expensive things.

And he did buy an expensive car, a McLaren 600LT, which has a starting price of around $240,000. However, the foreign press claims his vehicle, with all the options he ticked when ordering it, is valued at around $680,000.

It looks like the soccer player lost control of his supercar on the wet tarmac, went up the curb onto the grass and crashed into a tree. According to Marca, it was raining in Ceilandia, Brasil, at the moment of the crash.

The soccer player denied the claims that he was overspeeding. He shared: “People are claiming I was driving at 177 kph (110 mph), but, if that were true, I wouldn’t be here to tell the story.”

Neither he nor his wife, Daiany Naiara, who was with him at the moment of the crash, suffered any injuries. However, his sports car was heavily damaged.

Despite the accident, Paulinho is not ready to give up on the brand just yet. He announced to the Brazilian press that he doesn’t intend to fix it, because “it would be too expensive to import the parts.” Instead, he has his eyes on a new supercar made by the British carmaker. He continued: “We’re already looking at another McLaren. We have pictures and videos of a model we like.”

His wife confirmed the story, noting that “he really liked that car, and dreams about buying another one.”
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Editor's note: Gallery showing pictures of Paulinho's crashed McLaren and official pictures from the brand

About the author: Monica Coman
Monica Coman profile photo

Imagine a Wenn diagram for cars and celebrities. At the intersection you'll find Monica, putting her passion for these fields and English-Spanish double major to work. She's been doing for the past seven years, most recently at autoevolution.
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