For all of the fame and success that modern footballers achieve, the vast amounts of money that they are rewarded with on a weekly basis puts us mere mortals to shame.
Thanks to the billions of pounds being pumped into the modern game via intravenous drip, football stars are able to spend their money on some luxury ways of living.
Here’s a look at nine of the most beautiful and outlandish homes belonging to footballers across the world.
1. David Beckham
No collection of footballers’ houses would be complete without an appearance from aDavid Beckham.
His property, dubbed ‘Beckingham Palace’, was sold for £12m at the end of last year after belonging to the Beckhams for 14 years.
Not always occupied, Beckham owned the property throughout his time at Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, Milan andParis Saint Germain. The future Sir David has reportedly used the money to fund a £45m home in London and he also plans to get his soccer franchise in Miami off the ground.
2. Gareth Bale
The world’s most expensive player moved out to Madridlast summer and first occupied the home belonging to outgoing Brazilian star Kaka, who allowed the Welshman to rent his property for a meagre £10,000 per month.
Kaka vacated the place when he was sent to former clubAC Milan on loan after Bale’s £85m deal brought him to Madrid.
The Brazilian bought the home for €7.2m in 2010 and the property is situated in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of La Finca in Madrid, close to team-mates Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos.
3. Stephen Ireland
You’d be forgiven for thinking the Stoke midfielder is a little out of his depth on this list.
You’d also be wrong. If anything, Ireland’s extravagance and insistence on showing everyone ‘how the other half live’ put him as far ahead of the rest as Bayern Munich are in the Bundesliga.
The Irishman paid £260,000 on a white Bentley GTC for his wife Jessica’s 24th birthday. The lucky lady also sports a £90,000 Range Rover with pink alloys.
It is unclear if Ireland himself loves pink, but the colour scheme is a recurring theme in the house, where Ireland’s daughter is treated to this blinding all pink bedroom.
The pad is topped off by a massive fish tank and a pool table adorned with ‘Ireland’ across the top of it. Very modest, Stephen.
4. Gary Neville
You probably wouldn’t have thought that footballer turned Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville would want to emulate the Teletubbies, but he came pretty close before abandoning his plans to build this eco-friendly property.
Concept drawings of the property show what kind of home the former Manchester United right back wanted to build, but the idea was scrapped because of resident complaints.
The five bedroom home was set to be covered in grass, but after issues arose over the building of a wind turbine, it seems that we’ll never get to see G. Nev live in a place not so dissimilar to the Shire.
5. Wayne Rooney
It looks as though Wayne Rooney is staying in Manchester and the signing of a new £300,000 a week contract will see the Englandstriker earn a nice little bit of cash in the next few weeks.
For now, Rooney lives in this £4m Chesire mansion, complete with cinema room, golf simulator, indoor swimming pool and triple garage.
Whether Rooney stays put or upgrades with his next few pay cheques remains to be seen, but it looks as though Wazza wont be venturing too far from his current spot.
6. Thierry Henry
Arsenal’s all time leading scorer moved out to New York City in 2010, shelling out an impressive $9m on the top two floors of an apartment building in NYC.
The 5,607 square foot apartment also has another 4,500 sq ft of outdoor space, complete with rooftop terrace, dining area and bamboo garden.
Henry’s ultimate man-cave also boasts windows from the floor to the ceiling and a built-in 72 inch flat screen television with surround sound.
Henry loves New York so much that he’s even got the city landscape tattooed on his arms and it’s definitely worth googling.
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
The current World Player of the Year had a pretty swanky pad during his time in Manchester, but since arriving to Madrid in 2009, the former United star has moved into a home built to order by Spanish architect Joaquín Torres.
Torres has also designed the houses of former Real starsZinedine Zidane and Fernando Hierro, so was sought out by Ronaldo to build this massive property.
It’s somewhat surprising that Ronaldo didn’t add a museum dedicated to himself considering there’s more than enough space to fit his 125 awards and waxwork models.
The two time Ballon d’Or winner lives in the property with his son, appropriately named Cristiano.
8. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is one of the greatest players to have ever graced a football pitch, but Spanish architect Luis de Garrido took it upon himself to propose that Messi should literally live in a football.
This bonkers design has not been commissioned by Messi and doesn’t seem like it will ever be made, but you’d definitely be curious to see the real thing.
The property would be designed like a football, divided by a hexagonal pattern. Half of the roof would be covered in grass, whilst the other half of mirrored glass would allow sunlight in. With the ground divided between more grass and a swimming pool, the bird’s eye view also shows a terrace which would complete a cool figure of the number 10, Messi’s shirt number.
Although Messi is not exactly one for media attention, his ridiculous taste in suits worn to past Ballon d’Or ceremonies suggests that the Barcelona star has it in him to do something a tad crazy, such as live in this monstrosity.
9. John Terry
Chelsea captain John Terryrecently sold his Surrey mansion to the Sultan of Oman after an aide reportedly waltzed in and made an offer Terry couldn’t refuse – £16m to be exact.
Although the nine bedroom home offered plenty of space and enough secrecy for fumbles with his mates’ wives, Terry has calmed down from his ludicrous behaviour in recent years.
After investing a cool £4m, JT’s ex-pad came complete with a fishing lake, indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi and steam room. The former England captain ended up making a tidy £10m profit on his dream house.
(via Ftb Pro)
