Michael Jordan has been living the high life on vacation in Italy, with the NBA star seen puffing a cigar and enjoying a meal at a luxury hotel in Sardinia.
Jordan and his wife Yvette Prieto were seen eating at the Cala di Volpe hotel in Sardinia – where a meal is 300 euros ($336), water costs 20 euros a bottle ($22) and wine starts at 200 euros ($225).
The 60-year-old was in the area on his yacht and was seen taking a boat up onto the shore with a cigar in his mouth.Â
There has been a heatwave in Europe, and Jordan was seen mopping his brow as he sat at the table in grueling 106 degree heat.
He was later seen wearing a t-shirt with the No 23 on it – an homage to the shirt number he wore during his glory days with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan won six NBA titles during his trophy-laden era with the Bulls.
Michael Jordan took a boat from his yacht to the shore in Sardinia while on vacation
The NBA legend Jordan rolled up to the restaurant with a trademark cigar in his mouth
He needed a fan to cool down – the heat on the Italian island has passed 100 degrees lately
Ever the doting father, Jordan was seen with his twin daughters – age 9 – at the restaurant
The 60-year-old Jordan (second right) is on vacation with wife Yvette, 44, and their kidsÂ
While he has been in Europe, Jordan has caught up with some old friends from the NBA and Hollywood.
Last week, he was pictured at dinner with Magic Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson at the famous Lemon Tree restaurant in Capri.
The three friends were hilariously serenaded by the restaurant band and Johnson shared an amusing video of himself and Jordan smiling along as the band played to them.Â
‘Tonight we enjoyed an incredible dinner at the world-famous Da Paolino Ristorante AKA the lemon tree restaurant in Capri, Italy,’ Johnson wrote in an Instagram post.
‘AND I got to hang out with my great friend and the greatest basketball player to ever live, Michael Jordan, and his wife Yvette, Sam (Samuel L Jackson) and LaTanya Jackson, Judge Greg and Linda Mathis, and John and Vicki Palmer.’Â
Jordan and wife Prieto, who are in Sicily with their twin daughters, typically tend to keep a low profile.Â
The couple met in a Miami nightclub in 2008, with Jordan proposing to the Cuban-born model three years later. They married in 2013 and a year later they welcomed their daughters, now nine.
In recent weeks, Jordan has been in the headlines amid reports he is selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for an eye-watering $3billion, after 13 years as the owner of the NBA team.
Jordan appeared to be laughing away with the friends who joined him at the restaurantÂ
Jordan was seen at the luxurious Cala di Volpe hotel, where meals cost around $300
Wine starts at around $200 and water at the Italian hotel costs around $20
Jordan’s wife Yvette led the way out of the restaurant as Jordan thanked the hotel staff
Jordan was also seen donning a casual ‘No 23’ shirt – his number from his time at the BullsÂ
He is still keeping a minority stake in the team and recently played a part in helping the team pick Brandon Miller in the NBA Draft – the second selection behind Victor Wembanyama.
The 20-year-old Miller revealed Jordan was even in attendance with him at a workout before the Draft and accidentally air-balled a free-throw in front of him.Â
Before heading to Italy, MJ and Yvette were in Paris and were filmed leaving a restaurant when Jordan was asked if he approves of his sone Marcus, 32, dating Larsa Pippen – the 49-year-old ex-wife of Jordan’s Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen.
With a laugh, he said: ‘No!’.Â
Then, on a recent episode of Marcus and Larsa’s podcast, both halves of the couple shared their unfiltered reactions to Michael’s remark.
On the one hand, Marcus was ‘dying laughing’ at Michael’s comment, which was ‘hilarious to me’ because ‘I know my dad, right?’
Jordan and Magic Johnson were recently hilariously serenaded at a restaurant in Italy
Jordan and Johnson were seen laughing along as the band played to them in CapriÂ
Larsa on the other hand ‘didn’t think it was funny,’ found ‘nothing funny about it’ and seemed bemused that Marcus saw the humor in the situation.
Marcus explained that ‘my whole family, we’re all competitive. The Jordans, like, part of our DNA is to talk s***, you know? And it gets us going. It gets us motivated.’
When he got wind of what Michael said about Larsa, he ‘immediately I thought: “Like, he’s playing. he’s being jov- joking, he’s laughing. He’s, you know, just being playful.’
Marcus waggishly added that his father might have been ‘a little lit’ off tequila at the Paris restaurant Matignon the night of his viral dig at Larsa.