Michael Schumacher's adapted Mallorca villa 'nearly ready to move into'
Michael Schumacher's adapted Mallorca villa 'nearly ready to move into'
FAMILY members of seven-times world Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher have almost finished renovating their new mansion in Andratx, Mallorca so they can move him there permanently.
The former Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes driver, known as 'The Kaiser' to fans, has not been 'trapped' in his mansion in Switzerland all the time since his life-altering accident whilst skiing off-piste in Méribel, France at the end of 2013 – he has travelled to Andratx several times.
Like many German nationals, the Balearic Islands is one of their favourite sunshine destinations, and the Schumacher family spent many long holidays in Mallorca when Michael was still on the Grand Prix circuit.
The Andratx villa, which they bought from Real Madrid chairman Florentino Pérez, is about three kilometres from the beach and the Sierra de Tramuntana mountains, a UNESCO heritage site and walker's paradise where Michael's family will be able to go out and explore to clear their heads.
Michael's wife Corinna Schumacher decided on Andratx as soon as the ex-motorsport ace was able to travel again, and Michael's brother and fellow racing driver Ralf Schumacher, who had once owned a holiday home there, began asking around.
Corinna Schumacher wanted somewhere secluded and private, but it also had to be renovated to be fully medically-equipped, since Michael is not likely to ever make a significant recovery.
Top cardiologist Dr Philippe Menasché is said to be treating Michael with stem cells, although he has said there is little more he can do at present other than see how his celebrity patient's condition develops.
Fans know little or nothing about how Michael is, since the family has insisted on extreme privacy and declined to give any information.
Michael's former agent and very close friend Willi Webber has recently accused Corinna of not letting him see 'The Kaiser', saying he suspects this is because the ex-driver is in a much worse state than is publicly thought.
“She's frightened I'll go public with the truth,” Webber said at the time.
This week, a top Italian neurosurgeon revealed Schumacher is likely to be far-removed from the man who regularly graced TV screens in his heyday.
“We have to imagine a person very, very different from the one we remember on the circuit,” said Dr Nicola Acciari in an interview with the newspaper Contro Copertina ('Back Page').
“His organ, muscular and bone structure will be extremely deteriorated.”
Dr Acciari is based in a Bologna hospital and, although he has not treated – or seen – Michael Schumacher personally, he knows from his extensive experience of patients with similar traumatic brain injury what the changes in the racing driver are likely to be.
Also this week, Corinna Schumacher called the police after a paparazzo was seen sneaking around the family's Geneva villa.
The as-yet unnamed individual reportedly took photographs of Michael lying on his bed and put them on sale for €1.2 million, although no media channel is thought to have bought them or published them.
Once he is living at the Andratx mansion, though – a move that is expected to happen this year some time – Schumacher should be completely safe from prying press photographers, as the location is said to be remote and difficult to reach.
