Beckham gives in-laws $16mn Palm home

ISLAND LIVING: England football star David Beckham has given his $16 million mansion on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, pictured here in February, to the parents of his pop singer wife Victoria.

England football star David Beckham has given his $16 million mansion on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah to the parents of his pop singer wife Victoria, press reports said on Sunday.

British weekly tabloid News of the World reported on Sunday that Beckham has given the keys to the waterfront villa on the palm-shape artificial island to his in-laws Tony and Jackie Adams, parents of ‘Posh' Spice Girls singer, Victoria.

"David realised he was not going to be able to spend any time in Dubai," said a source close to 32-year old Beckham, who now plays for Los Angeles football team, LA Galaxy.

"He's got his commitments in Los Angeles and it's a long trip, especially when he still has to spend a lot of time in London - so he discussed it with Victoria and decided that the Dubai place would be a really special present for her parents."

The house, which the Beckhams bought in 2002 for $1.6 million, has rocketed in value by ten times due to Dubai's rise as a world-class tourism destination.

The newspaper also added that though David and Posh would still own the mansion, Tony, 61, and Jackie, 59, can decorate the house according to their own taste and spend as much time as they want there.

"He trusts them completely and knows the property will be in very safe hands," said the source to The News of the World. "He still retains legal ownership, but on a day-to-day basis it's to become their place."

Beckham purchased the luxury home within the prestigious Palm Jumeirah estate after a visit to the emirate before the football World Cup in 2002.

A number of other England football stars - including David's best friend Gary Neville, Michael Owen, David James and Joe Cole - have also bought properties on the Palm Jumeirah, according to The News of the World.

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READERS' COMMENTS

A $16 Million Gift?
Posted by Louie Tedesco, Dubai on Monday 7 April 2008 at 13:15 UAE time


There once was a local television station in Dubai called Channel 33. After mysteriously going off the air for a while, a mutant version named Dubai-One returned to the airwaves a little over one year ago.

In a live interview on Channel 33 presented during the 2003 Dubai Shopping Festival, a ranking officer of the Palm development had a bit of misfortune when his tongue slipped and he publicly stated "We gave him a house - we GAVE him this house, it will be good for selling the Palm to have such neighbours!". Of course it has been conveniently forgotten that those with the money to buy their own villas - got them for free! The initial buyers of Palm property also benefited as their investment has grown. But certain VIP property owners were able to keep their $1.6 million pocketed, watch it grow elsewhere, without undue investment risk.

Let's wait and see how "maintenance fees" are billed to Palm residents when beachfront erosion requires a sea-going dredger to belch sand on their property every month? As for me, my motto is like David Beckham's - "I can buy it myself... but I want it for free".

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