We here in America are plenty familiar with what happens when athletes get their hands on their disposable income. They do what the rest of us do -- spend it on huge houses, fancy cars, trips to local gentleman's establishments, and whatever nominal -- and unfortunately permanent -- legal fees may arise from such trips. If we may use late-90's slang, they get bling-bling. Y'all.
Few American athletes could compete with this, however: French soccer player Williams Gallas -- who plays for Arsenal, one of England's richest club teams -- spent his wads of cash on quite possibly the most ridiculous car you will ever lay eyes on in your entire life. It's a Mercedes Benz SLR-McLaren, and the entire thing is coated in chrome. Yes, you read correctly -- chrome.
According to Wikipedia, the Mercedes McLaren is the fastest convertible car in the world, reaching 208 mph and doing 0-60 in less than 3.8 seconds. Most would be content to just own that car, in whatever color; we'd still take it even if it was covered in rust. Alas, Gallas has taken the already flashy ride -- which reportedly cost around $600,000 -- and made it even flashier. Tacky, even. We didn't think it was possible to make such a machine tacky, but leave it to a professional athlete to prove us wrong.
Next up: The all-chrome helicopter. Or the all-chrome learjet. Pshh. How about an all-chrome house? Yeah. Now that's ballin'.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger who would settle for an all-chrome bicycle. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, FanHouse, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Pro Soccer Player Rolls in Ridiculous Ride
French soccer player rolls in a fully chromed-out Mercedes McLaren
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