Zlatan Ibrahimovic has dazzled fans by touring the streets of Stockholm in a Ferrari he bought for himself as a birthday gift – but could face trouble after the Swedish Transport Agency said it had not been registered since March.
The all-time top scorer for Sweden gave fans one last glimpse of his taste for luxury when he took one last drive around the streets of his home city in a Ferrari Monza SP2, which is only sold to loyal Ferrari customers, reaches more than 62 miles per hour in under three seconds and has a top speed of more than 186 miles per hour.
The roofless sports car has no windscreen or side windows, is worth around $2 million and was shown gleaming under lights when Ibrahimovic announced his purchase to his following of almost 43 million on Instagram last year with the message:“Happy birthday to Zlatan.”
Now he could face sanctions by the Swedish government after they confirmed that the car had been out of registration for more than a month, meaning that he was only allowed to drive it “the shortest possible route to or from the nearest inspection.”
“It is canceled and has been since March 30,” said Mikael Andersson, of the Swedish Transport Agency.
“A car may not be driven if it is canceled.”
Ibrahimovic, who has now returned to Italy for 14 days in quarantine ahead of an expected return to training with Serie A side AC Milan on May 18, could now face a fine despite impressing car fans in the homeland where he spent more than seven weeks while football in Italy was suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not the car you buy to drive super fast,” pointed out Alrik Soderlind, the editor-in-chief at Auto Motor & Sport, speaking to Bladet.
However cool you think you may be, you aren’t @Ibra_official in a Ferrari SP2 cool ?? @ferdi_piace? Sweden ?? pic.twitter.com/YkEQfClUSk
“There are even better Ferrari models, or other even more performance-oriented sports cars.
“It’s absolutely wonderful. I have driven cheaper sports cars with no windscreen and you feel, smell and hear everything – the experience becomes more intense.
“If you want to drive a little faster you have to have a helmet. You don’t want to get a wasp in your mouth. This is a real pleasure car: it’s more about gliding forward and feeling the power, accelerating and being fulfilled by the sound.”
Happy Birthday to Zlatan
Multi-millionaire Ibrahimovic is thought to own more than a dozen supercars including a Porsche 918 Spyder, Maserati Gran Turismo, Audi S8 and Lamborghini Gallardo.
He once admitted he had compared himself to a Ferrari being driven “like a Fiat” during a discussion with Pep Guardiola shortly before he fell out of favour at Barcelona, and recalled his displeasure when his former manager outlawed expensive cars at the team’s base.
“Barca players were banned from driving their sports cars to training,” he said.
“I thought this was ridiculous – it was no-one’s business what car I drive – so in April, before a match… I drove my Ferrari Enzo to work. It caused a scene.”
