Raking it in from bumper salaries, sponsorship deals and more, the top players on the planet can afford to live like kings in the most lavish of surroundings. And in true flashy footballer style, they certainly don't disappoint. Click or scroll through to check out the wow-factor pads of Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and other soccer greats, and find out who among the game's biggest names owns the most expensive properties.
Reigning supreme as the world's number one footballer, Lionel Messi's glittering career on and off the pitch has landed him an estimated net worth of £472 million ($600m), a chunk of which is tied up in his enviable real estate portfolio. The second highest-earning soccer player to boot, the Barça legend, PSG star and new forward for David Beckham's Inter Miami FC owns an array of jaw-dropping properties, including a slick condo in Miami's 60-storey Porsche Design Tower.
This is where Messi is likely to live while playing for the Florida team.The Argentine football icon shelled out £3.9 million ($5m) in December 2019 for a three-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom unit in futuristic skyscraper that’s loaded with eye-popping amenities such as a gourmet restaurant, spa and fitness centre, beauty salon, private cinema and racing car and golf simulators.
The tower's major draw, though, is its patented glass-enclosed car lift system dubbed the 'Dezervator'. An exquisite feat of engineering, the unique drive-in lift whisks residents and their cars from the street directly into a fabulous 'sky garage' in their apartment. Messi, who has an incredible collection of supercars, was probably sold on this fabulous feature.
In addition to the breathtaking sky garage, Messi's condo boasts a Poggenpohl kitchen, spacious living and dining area with furniture by Armani/Casa and extra-plush bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as a curvy oceanview terrace kitted out with a plunge pool. But the novelty of the pad must have worn off for the soccer star because the unit has been rented out since January for an eye-watering £24,000 ($30k) per month.
Cristiano Ronaldo beats Messi when it comes to earnings. Not only the world's highest-paid footballer, he's the top-grossing athlete globally with annual pay of £107 million ($136m). The Portugal captain's estimated net worth is lower than Messi's, though at £393 million ($500m). But when it comes to property, Ronaldo has an equally, if not more impressive portfolio, which includes a glamorous contemporary mansion outside Manchester.
The modern-rustic masterpiece is located in the village of Alderley Edge slap bang in the heart of Cheshire's Footballer Belt, aka the Golden Triangle, which is jam-packed with soccer star mansions. Ronaldo bagged the seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom property on his return to Manchester United in 2021, shelling out £5.8 million ($7.4m) for the freehold.
Set in 23 acres, Baguley Farm rocks three enormous reception rooms, including this high-ceilinged galleried beauty, as well as a plethora of high-end amenities, from a cinema room to a leisure suite containing a pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and gym. Despite the property’s many attractions, Ronaldo hasn't actually spent a lot of time there. Not long after setting up home in the property in September 2021, the famed forward decamped with his girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez and their brood to a mansion owned by former striker Andrew Cole.
The Sun reported the move was prompted by noisy sheep in surrounding fields that were interrupting the family's sleep, but poor security was the more likely culprit. Following Ronaldo's acrimonious departure from Manchester United in November and his relocation to Saudi Arabia to play for Riyadh club Al Nassr, the mansion was put on the market with Jackson-Stops. But while it's listed at a bargain £5.3 million ($6.8), £488,000 ($620k) less than the soccer star paid for it in 2021, the property has failed to sell as yet.
As England manager, Gareth Southgate has steered the national team to its first European Championship final since 1966, and in spite of his infamous Euros penalty miss in 1996, the former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough player is actually considered one of the country's most well-respected defenders. Pulling in a reported £4.9 million ($6.2m) a year for the England gig, Southgate set up a property investment company in 2019 and has since been busy acquiring real estate, but the jewel of the portfolio is his grand country pile in Yorkshire he's owned since 2006.
Southgate dropped £3.1 million ($4m) on the historic Swinsty Hall in Harrogate while he was playing for Middlesbrough and went on to give the 16th-century Grade I-listed gem a major remodel. The 8,000-square-foot Elizabethan property, which is nestled in 4.5 acres, was transformed into a comfy family home with six bedrooms, five bathrooms, five reception rooms, a breakfast kitchen, panelled library and cinema room.
The revamp was closely guided by English Heritage and as you can see from this shot of the Great Hall, the glorious original features from the beamed ceilings to the stone fireplaces have been meticulously preserved. Built in the late 1500s for the Wood family, the property passed in 1590 to a Henry Robinson. According to local legend, Robinson bought Swinsty Hall after making a fortune flogging valuables he'd looted from the homes of plague victims in London, and it's said the ghost of this shady character still haunts the property to this day.
In 2013, Southgate and his wife Alison put the storied country pile up for sale with an asking price of £3.6 million ($4.6m). Whether it was the ghost or something else that motivated their decision to sell is a mystery, though. The couple eventually slashed the asking price by half a million pounds but Swintsy Hall was removed from the market in 2016. That was the year Southgate scored the England manager job and he decided it was best to stay put to focus 100% on his new role, with the generous salary presumably another factor – heating and maintaining this sort of property doesn't come cheap of course.
Lauded as one of the best strikers ever, Zlatan Ibrahimović has racked up a suitably impressive CV, having played for the likes of Ajax, Juventus, Inter and AC Milan, Barcelona, PSG and Manchester United. During his stint in Manchester from 2016 to 2018, the Swedish international rented an Italian-inspired mansion in the affluent Manchester suburb of Hale.
Ibrahimović coughed up a hefty £31,400 ($40k) a week to lease the 10,000-square-foot property. Surrounded by landscaped gardens that look straight out of Tuscany, Green Meadows, as the mansion is called, is arranged over four floors and features six bedrooms and the same number of bathrooms, with stylish open-concept living areas and a fantastic assortment of bespoke design touches.
The standout feature has got to be the central atrium, but there are plenty of other USPs to gawp at in the property, including exquisite stained glass windows, marble fireplaces and custom ironwork. An effortless blend of heritage and contemporary, Green Meadows is a real looker. And when it went on the market in 2018 with an asking price of £4.9 million ($6.2m), the property was that year's most viewed property on Rightmove.
Green Meadows sold the following year through Gascoigne Halman for £4.2 million ($5.4k), so quite a bit short of its asking price, which is surprising given the buzz the listing generated. As for Ibrahimović, who has just retired from the game after another stint at AC Milan, his stellar career has netted him a net worth pegged at £149 million ($190m) and a fantastically diverse property portfolio that includes a Beverly Hills mansion, a converted church in Stockholm and forest on the border of Sweden and Norway.
Neymar made history in 2017, when he became the most expensive player in history following his £206 million ($263m) transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. He was the world's fourth highest-earning footballer at the time, with an annual pay of £75 million ($95m), but has just got even wealthier, following his move to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal, where he will earn £130 million ($165m) a year, plus lucrative bonuses. He isn't shy about spending it either, to judge by this pic taken in 2021 of him posing with his £9.7 million ($12.4m) helicopter outside the waterside mansion he's owned since 2016.
Neymar paid £6.7 million ($8.5m) for the showstopping property on a 2.5-acre lot in Brazil’s elite Portobello Resort amid the tropical paradise of Mangaratiba. A very far cry from the tiny slum home the rags-to-riches player spent his formative years, the 67,000-square-foot six bedroom mansion is as luxurious as they come, with a wealth of showy amenities, from the huge pool, Jacuzzi, tennis and beach volleyball courts to the helipad where Neymar also docks his yacht.
The dreamy mansion is all about indoor/outdoor living, with interior spaces that flow effortlessly to the exterior. Uniting the home is the minimally decorated open-plan chillout and dining area, which is punctuated by a statement floating staircase. Elsewhere, there's an expansive chef's kitchen, 3,000-bottle wine cellar, gym, massage room and sauna.
The property has proven to be a sanctuary for Neymar. In 2018, he recovered there following a metatarsal injury and the Brazilian forward spent the COVID lockdown in the property, quarantining with a group of friends. Lucky him, as there was probably no better place to be holed up during the height of the pandemic.
Now the head coach for American side DC United, former Everton and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney hung up his boots in 2021 following a sterling playing career that saw the Liverpool-born footballer establish himself as one of the finest soccer players of his generation and cash in big-time. The retired goalscorer has an estimated fortune of £134 million ($170m). Across the pond, Rooney is said to reside in a swish mansion in Maryland but his principal home is a magnificent custom manor near Knutsford in Cheshire's Golden Triangle, where this pic of the ex-England captain and his family was taken.
A lack of security at their former mansion was the impetus behind Rooney and his wife Coleen's decision to commission the splendid Georgian-style manor. The couple bought the 50-acre plot the property sits on for £3.9 million ($5m) in 2017 and the construction project was a lengthy four years in the making. Initially, the country pile was likened to an out-of-town supermarket or Travelodge hotel, but these assumptions were actually based on images of the stables rather than the manor house.
All in all, the couple splashed £20 million ($25m) on their six-bedroom “mini Versailles”, which was named High Lake Manor after the Rooneys finally moved in during the 2021 festive season. Coleen, who is seen here posing at the top of the majestic staircase, made the manor a key focus of her 'Wagatha Christie' dispute with Rebekah Vardy when she helped identify Vardy as the person who was leaking stories about her to the tabloid press by posting a fake story on her Instagram account about flooding in the property's basement that only Vardy could see. The faux story later appeared in The Sun, confirming Coleen's suspicions.
Shown here with Coleen and his sons celebrating their first Christmas in the fancy new home, Rooney's manor is a world away from the humble council house where he grew up. Aside from the sumptuous reception rooms, the posh property is kitted out with a study, library, home cinema, snooker room, wine cellar and a whiskey and cigar room, along with the aforementioned stables, a football pitch, orangerie, supercar garage, swimming pool and spa facilities.
Considered one of the greatest Mexican soccer players of all time, Javier Hernández has played with distinction for Manchester United, Real Madrid and other top sides. Currently a striker for LA Galaxy, Chicharito as he's nicknamed was awarded the team's Player of the Year title for 2022 but is currently injured and out of action for the rest of the 2023 season. Hernández has accumulated a fortune estimated at £23.6 million ($30m) over the years, which was boosted very nicely by the sale of his LA mansion last June.
The 6,289-square-foot modern farmhouse in leafy Beverlywood was sold through Savills for £5.3 million ($6.8m), which is a million dollars more than the Guadalajara-born soccer star paid for the property in the spring of 2020. Like Neymar's pad, it's designed to fuse the interior with the exterior, which features a pool, poolhouse, spa, outdoor dining area and firepit.
Looking into the pristine six-bedroom, seven-bathroom property, it's evident this is a footballer with taste. The décor is understated and elegant, another thing the contemporary farmhouse shares with Neymar's mansion, and complements the quality fixtures to a T, which include solid marble fireplaces and wide-plank hardwood flooring.
Together with his partner Sarah Kohan and their two kids, Hernández kicks back in a family room complete with a custom entertainment system spanning an entire wall. The property also has sizeable living and dining rooms, a chef's kitchen equipped with top-end appliances and this gorgeous master suite.
Didier Drogba is regarded as one the best African footballers of all time. The Ivorian player's career has been nothing short of phenomenal, particularly his two stretches at Chelsea, and he can rest on his laurels, having retired from the professional game in 2018. Drogba, who is estimated to be worth £70.8 million ($90m), has as you might expect lived in some splendid properties over the years, including a regal mansion in Oxshott, not far from Chelsea's Surrey training ground.
Drogba acquired the property back in 2007 for just over £4.5 million ($5.8m) according to Prime Location. With all the trappings of an elite footballer's mansion, the seasoned soccer star must have felt right at home. The mansion is set in an acre of manicured gardens behind electric gates and a reassuringly high fence.
Located within the Oxshott Crown Estate for added prestige, the palatial six-bedroom, seven-bathroom pad has five grand reception rooms centred around this stunning entrance hall, which seriously impresses with that beautiful sweeping staircase. Like Rooney's manor, the property features an orangery, as well as a swimming pool.
The pool is housed in a separate leisure complex that also contains a sauna and Jacuzzi. Drogba lived at the property with his wife Lalla Diakite and their kids until the couple's separation in 2020, and the breakup may well have been behind the soccer luminary's decision to sell up. Last September, the manse hit the market with Knight Frank for £6 million ($7.7m). It sold in January for almost a million pounds less than the asking price and considerably less than Drogba paid for it.
Staying with iconic former Chelsea players, John Terry won five Premier League titles, one Champions League and many more honours with the London club over the course of 492 appearances, before retiring and then returning to work with the club's academy this summer. His playing career proved extremely lucrative but a significant part of Terry's estimated £70.7 million ($90m) fortune is thanks to his property developing sideline. Take Terry's amenity-heavy country pile on the Oxshott Crown Estate, just down the road from Drogba's mansion…
Terry and his wife Toni bought the 18th century country estate in 2019 for £4 million ($5.1m) and set about giving the main mansion an uber-premium makeover. The interior design-savvy couple totally overhauled the seven-bedroom, five-bathroom property, swapping its tired and traditional look for slick and contemporary luxe.
As well as revamping the interiors, the Terrys demolished the conservatory and replaced it with a gym and living area. They also added a wine and cigar room, a supercar garage, a new picture-perfect outdoor pool and an al fresco party area. They even put in staff quarters, too. Dating from 1752, the country house, which takes pride of place in 7.8 acres of woodland, isn't heritage-listed, which is a rarity for a property this old, so the couple pretty much had carte blanche to do what they wanted with it.
The facelift most definitely paid off. In May 2023, the estate sold for a staggering £23 million ($29.2m), netting the couple, who along with their two children are downsizing to a smaller property, a colossal profit. As well as other choice abodes, Terry previously owned the mansion next door, which he also made many millions on, and is currently in the process of replacing another adjacent house he owns with two deluxe mansions.
David Beckham needs no introduction. The one-time England captain and midfielder for Manchester United and Real Madrid finished his playing career Stateside and is now the owner of his very own team, Inter Miami FC, which recently pulled off a major coup by signing Messi. Off the pitch, Beckham has built a powerful global brand with his ex-Spice Girl wife Victoria that's boosted his fortune no-end – it's estimated at £354 million ($450m) currently. The minted couple have invested in a slew of mega-pricey property over the years.
Their most expensive home is the detached Victorian townhouse the pair bought in 2013 for an astronomical £30.6 million ($39m). Located in London's highly desirable Holland Park neighbourhood, the imposing property was remodelled in 2016 at an estimated cost of £7.8 million ($10m), pushing its value into stratospheric territory. The townhouse is surely the most valuable property owned by a footballer…
The Beckhams converted the townhouse's seventh bedroom into a dressing and beauty room for Victoria, added a gym and wine cellar and gave the entire property a head-to-toe makeover with the help of interior design experts Kelly Hoppen and Rose Uniacke. The whole thing turned out as stylish as you'd expect, with a pool, spa and gourmet chef's kitchen.
Despite all the money thrown at it, the townhouse needed urgent structural repairs last year when it was discovered the ground floor terrace was on the verge of collapse. Posh and Becks had to apply for planning permission to carry out the necessary repairs due to the building's Grade II-listed status, but they eventually won approval and sorted out the hazardous problem. Here's Victoria posing it up on the townhouse's classy staircase.
The Germans are well represented in the upper echelons of the football world too. Manuel Neuer, who plays for Bayern Munich and his national team, has been called “the world’s best-ever goalkeeper” and is said to be worth around £31.5 million ($40m). But he’s not as showy as some of his peers. He started his own Manuel Neuer Kids Foundation in 2010 and famously raised nearly half-a-million pounds ($635k) for the charity on the German version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? in 2011.
The Bundesliga star is reported to have obtained permission to build his dream house on the banks of Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria back in 2014, just weeks after he split from his girlfriend of five years, Kathrin Gilch. It is hard to imagine a more inspiring view to wake up to every day. The three-storey glass-panelled villa is just 50 kilometres south of Munich, so not too far to get to training every day.
Little is known about the interior of the custom-built villa, although it is likely to be low-key and tasteful, if the goalie’s general style and demeanour is anything to go by. Some of the initial plans drawn up by architect Andreas Erlacher had to be amended to meet with local requirements, but 800 square feet of the façade is glass-fronted and the property has a 40-foot swimming pool.
The sportsman, who married Nina Weiss in 2017 but split in 2020 and is now dating handball player Anika Bissel according to reports, gave fans a glimpse of the exterior of his home in May 2020, when he posted a video of his training routine during lockdown. The star managed to fit in a mini-football pitch on the hillside and his stylish garden furniture is just visible.
Bayern Munich and German football legend Thomas Müller has more than a little silverware to his name. He has won 11 Bundesliga titles, the Champions League twice, as well as the World Cup in 2014 and will be remembered as one of the greatest players of his generation. He is said to be worth in the region of £78 million ($100m) and earns around £345,000 ($439k) a week.
The forward lives in a villa in Wettlkam, around 17 miles south of Munich with wife Lisa, which, to judge by the occasional image he shares with his fans, has been decorated in stylish neutral tones. Note the horse ornament behind the couple. Lisa is a professional dressage rider and horse trainer and the couple also own their own stud farm Gut Wettlkam, nearby.
The couple also love their dogs, who regularly appear in their shared photographs and feature in the stunning artwork that adorns their super-luxe kitchen, where Thomas often educates his followers on nutrition. According to reports, the player invests in sustainable food start-up Organic Garden, which embraces the 'farm to fork' concept.
As well as stylish interiors, the villa is surrounded by stunning gardens. Sadly, the star had to step up his security at the property last year when it was burgled while Müller was helping Bayern Munich beat Barcelona in the Champions League in September 2022. Reports say the house was turned upside down and the thieves made off with valuables worth over six digits.
Germany’s football World Cup-winning midfielder Mesut Özil announced his retirement aged 34 in March 2023. The former Real Madrid and Arsenal player was a key member of Germany’s World-Cup winning team in Brazil in 2014, but retired from the national squad in 2018, saying he faced “racism and disrespect” over his Turkish ancestry, reports Aljazeera.
He bagged four FA Cups with Arsenal, but left in 2021 after falling out with manager Mikel Arteta. He has an estimated net worth of £94.2 million ($120m) and during his eight years at Arsenal lived in a £10 million ($12.7m) house in north London with his wife, former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse, seen here in an Ottoman-inspired room in the house drinking coffee.
The décor of his six-bedroom house, which he bought in 2016, is heavily influenced by his Turkish roots. The property has been decked out in marble specially imported from Turkey, including on the walls in the dining room. Özil also invested in a £800,000 ($1m) car collection, commuting to and from the Gunners’ training ground in a range of top-end motors from his luxurious home.
Elsewhere in his home, his brand logo is emblazoned on the door of his cinema and games room, where an enormous screen allows him to play FIFA and relax with his wife and daughter Eda. The star moved to Turkish team Fenerbaçhe after leaving Arsenal but is now considering a move into professional gaming, according to his agent Dr Erkut Sogut.
British Beth Mead and Dutch Vivianne Miedema are two of the world’s most successful female footballers. Both play for Arsenal and share a home in Hertfordshire within easy reach of the Gunners' training ground. Mead became a hero last year as the breakout star of the England team at the 2022 Euros, while Miedema is in the running for top striker in the world. Sadly, neither of them can play in the World Cup due to injury.
Born in Yorkshire, Mead now lives in St Albans with her fellow Arsenal forward Miedema. She was awarded an MBE by Prince William and named Women’s Sports Personality of the year in 2022 (Miedema won the award the year before). She reportedly earns around £25,000 ($31.8k) a week with the Gunners, while her partner Miedema is reported to earn £382,500 ($487k) per year. Both earn substantial sums from their sponsors too.
Although sleek and smart from the outside, the house is significantly more modest than the homes of their male counterparts, reflecting the huge difference between male and female salaries in the sport. In her debut non-fiction book for younger readers, entitled Roar, Mead aims to inspire children to pursue their dreams and break down the barriers to entering the world of sports. Seen here relaxing at home, Beth shows off dog Rona's adorable Christmas outfit, in Arsenal red of course.
There’s no room for a state-of-the-art gym at home, although Mead likes to use her Power Plate to up the ante on her rehab. Both players are recovering from similar injuries, which have taken them out of the World Cup, but they are sure to be back for the next one. Miedema, who previously played for Bayern Munich, is the Netherlands’ top goalscorer of all time. So they are the ultimate power couple!
It was a disappointing end to Megan Rapinoe’s World Cup career when she missed a crucial penalty against Sweden in the latter stages of the 2023 competition. The athlete announced she was retiring from the game in July 2023, but will depart from the sport as one of soccer’s most decorated players, having taken the United States to victory in both the 2014 and 2019 World Cups.
Her personality and activism off the pitch has taken her to new heights. She has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights, pay equity and the black lives matter movement and became one of the newest faces of Victoria’s Secret in 2021. She has an estimated net worth of £3.9 million ($5m) and an ultra-stylish apartment in New York, which was featured in the September 2023 edition of Elle Décor.
The place in question is a 1,650-square-foot, two-bedroom place in SoHo, which she shares with fiancée former WNBA basketball player and reigning US Women’s National Team Champion Sue Bird. The couple hired Mark Grattan to work his magic and the result is a super-stylish space filled with unique artworks, a stairwell painted in violet and a minty monochrome bedroom with custom-made bed and nightstand.
As well as her sporting prowess, the star is known for her blue/lilac cropped hairstyle and her quirky dress sense, so no wonder she has a well-ordered closet, where she keeps her large collection of footwear. The footballer appeared on the cover of Time Magazine just ahead of the World Cup and promises to continue her work on the public stage championing social causes.
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