Beckhams buy prime locations

David Beckham's bulge may have come under scrutiny in an Armani underwear ad, but that hasn't deterred Prime Minister Gordon Brown from inviting the soccer star to No. 10 Downing Street for a private meeting. It's all for a good cause though, the LA Galaxy midfielder says the PM has an interest in sports and helping Beckham's football academy. Some say the Prime Minister is pinning his hopes on Beckham to help England secure the rights to host the 2018 World Cup. The meeting at the exclusive Downing Street address highlights just how far he has come from his beginnings in a modest terrace in Leytonstone, East London.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid soccer star catapulted into superstardom when he met and married Posh Spice – of the Spice Girls – during the ‘90s. Since then, the couple, who have now moved from Spain to a prime location in California, have travelled the world living in sumptuous multi-million dollar properties. They reportedly paid $US18.2 million for their latest mansion, which is a six-bedroom Italian villa-style manor nestled in the Hollywood Hills. The single-story retreat is set on 1.25 acres, boasts city and ocean views, nine bathrooms and a swimming pool, all set behind iron gates at the end of a private drive. The pair paid for their latest home from their Hazelhurst Trust, a name that stems from the first house Beckham bought – a four-bedroom abode on Hazlehurst Road at Worsley in Greater Manchester.

The Beckhams moved to California last year after David scored a $US 250 million five-year contract with the LA Galaxy soccer team, ending his playing stint with Real Madrid. Although the couple plan to sell their home in Spain, they intend to keep their Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire home north of London, affectionately nicknamed ‘Beckingham Place’.

But Victoria, whose singing career as Posh Spice has been revived with the Spice Girls’ world tour, says she’d give it all up and move into a council flat if it meant staying together with Becks and their three sons Brooklyn, 8, Romeo, 4, and Cruz, 2. Victoria told OK! Magazine, “Sometimes I see a couple who've just finished work, sitting in their car, and she's got a Barclay's bank badge on and he's got his Dixon's badge on, and they're going home for dinner. “Sometimes that looks nice to me, but we all want something we don't have. I can't do without love. I would rather live in a council flat with David than in Beckingham Palace without him.”

The Beckhams have an impressive array of other properties in prime locations:

La Moraleja, Madrid: The Beckham family moved into a £4.5 million home in La Moraleja, then in 2006 they moved into a £5 million mansion in the city.

Domaine Saint-Vincent, France: In 2003, the Beckhams paid £1.5 million for a 19th century manor house in the South of France, which is said to be haunted.

Palm-Jumeirah, United Arab Emirates: Said to be a gift from the Crown Prince of Dubai, the villas on this palm tree shaped development are valued between £800,000 and £1.7 million.

Story: Angela Erini