DUBAI, 14 July 2003 — David Beckham and Michael Owen are among 11 England footballers who have bought holiday homes on one of the palm tree-shaped islands being built off the coast of Dubai.
Beckham may have left Manchester United for Real Madrid, but will still have former United teammates Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Wes Brown and Nicky Butt as neighbors when the billion-dollar resort, dubbed The Palm Jumeirah, is completed by end-2005.
Wayne Bridge, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Kieron Dyer and David James have also bought luxury five-bedroom villas, along with England goalkeeping coach Ray Clemence and physiotherapist Stephen Slattery.
“Once seen, never forgotten,” said Sultan Ahmed ibn Sulayem, chairman of The Palm, of the man-made island, jutting five kilometers out into the sea and already visible from the moon.
“This was clearly the case with 11 of the England players and two of the management team when they visited our office a little over a year ago” when the England squad held a warm-up camp in Dubai in May 2002 en route to the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea, Sulayem said.
“We are delighted to welcome them to The Palm,” he said, not specifying, however, whether Beckham and his pop star wife Victoria opted for the Spanish hacienda-style design on offer. The resort will be built in the shape of 17 huge fronds surrounded by 12 km of protective 200-meter wide barrier reefs, adding 120 km of sandy beaches to the emirate’s coastline.
The island, including 2,000 villas, up to 50 luxury hotels, shopping complexes, cinemas and the Middle East’s first marine park, will be accessible by 300-meter bridges from the mainland or by boat. The $1.6-million luxury villas come with their own 40-meter private beach and swimming pool and buyers are able to choose from 28 architectural styles.
Dubai, which boasts five million visitors a year for a population of one million, is targeting 10 million by 2007.
