When Kylian Mbappe made his long-awaited move to Real Madrid this summer, the France superstar could have chosen to live wherever he wanted in the Spanish capital.
The Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has a luxury apartment in the vibrant city centre, which Mbappe already knew well from previous visits.
His new team-mates Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior have impressive residences in the established and comfortable La Moraleja neighbourhood, close to Madrid’s training ground at Valdebebas in the city’s northern outskirts.
Mbappe opted for La Finca, the exclusive private development in the swish Pozuelo de Alarcon suburb to the west of the city, following fellow galacticos Iker Casillas, Raul Gonzalez, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Toni Kroos and David Alaba.
It also helped that there was a suitably luxurious property available on the market. The minimalist, modern 1,100-square-metre mansion has eight bedrooms (all en-suite), ample kitchen and receiving areas including a large cinema screening room. There is also a home gym, sauna, and heated indoor swimming pool — specially designed for the requirements of a top-level professional athlete.
(Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
The property had a listing price of €12million (£10m; $12.9m) but Mbappe’s representatives had an advantage. It had been on the market for two years, since the previous occupant left for a new career opportunity in Los Angeles.
That gave them more leverage during tough negotiations, and industry sources with knowledge of the deal, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak on the matter, have confirmed to The Athletic that it was sold for €10.5m.
Whether the deal-clincher for Mbappe was the golf putting green installed by Gareth Bale in the 3,000-square-metre garden is unknown. Mbappe is perhaps more likely to make use of the mini football pitch, basketball court, and covered garage with room for six sports cars.
A view of some of the houses at La Finca (Dermot Corrigan/The Athletic)
La Finca’s extensive security meant The Athletic couldn’t get within 500 meters of Mbappe’s new house during a recent visit, but we did speak to multiple sources who live and work in the area, some of whom requested anonymity to protect their relationships with very rich and sensitive neighbors and clients…
For centuries, Pozuelo de Alarcon and its surrounds has been a refuge for Madrid’s wealthy, many of whom had summer residences close to royal hunting grounds which stretched up to the nearby Sierra de Guadarrama mountains.
In 1989, the site, which is now La Finca (The Ranch), was parkland when it was bought by Luis Garcia Cereceda, a successful developer of apartment complexes in the surrounding suburbs. Its 100 hectares were rezoned for residential use in 2000. Three different areas were mapped out amid the rolling contours of the existing landscape, utilizing its existing pine forests, while adding 17 artificial lakes. Los Lagos I (The Lakes I) had the biggest plots for the most exclusive mansions. Los Lagos II had not quite as huge but still very ample chalets and duplexes. Prado Largo had more (relatively) affordable apartments.
“La Finca is an exceptional life-concept with residences surrounded by nature and recognized for their security, privacy, and quality,” La Finca’s vice-president Jorge Moran told The Athletic.
Architect Joaquin Torres, of studio A-cero, was hired to maintain a uniform modern style throughout the development. Torres designed the apartments for Los Lagos II and Prado Largo, and worked with each individual buyer of a site in Los Lagos I to maintain a harmonious aesthetic within the entire development.
“Luis and his wife wanted to build the best urbanization in Spain, and they did it,” Torres says. “It was a tremendously attractive project, an iconic job, for the bravery and the quality of the product.”
Houses originally sold for €2m, but the prices quickly rocketed in what was quickly dubbed ‘Madrid’s Beverly Hills’. Among the first buyers were aristocrats Borja Thyssen and Blanca Cuesta, actors Lydia Bosch and Paz Vega, former bullfighter Fran Rivera, and singer Alejandro Sanz. Other high-profile residents included former Pozuelo mayor Jesus Sepulveda and businessman Jesus Correa, both convicted in the ‘Caso Gurtel’ corruption case. Gurtel’s investigating judge Baltazar Garzon was another neighbor within the same development.
A view into Los Lagos II (Dermot Corrigan/The Athletic)
Privacy and security have always been key selling points for La Finca. Torres designed bunker-style guard houses and checkpoints at the entrances to each of the three zones. Private security keep a 24-hour watch, with infrared cameras all around the perimeter fence.
“(La Finca residents) can go for a run and nobody can even get close to them, the worst that can happen is to trip over a rabbit,” says a source who has sold plenty of properties in the area.
It’s impossible to gain access to any of the three areas of La Finca without an invitation from a resident. On a recent Saturday morning, a black Mercedes SL 600 with black-tinted glass was waved past the security barrier, while a white Toyota delivery van had to wait while the guards checked their invitation, but The Athletic had to remain on the outside.
Security at La Finca is high (Dermot Corrigan/The Athletic)
From the very start, La Finca and football were closely associated. Madrid and Spain national team stars Raul and Casillas moved in during the 2000s — and many other galactico players and coaches have followed over the years.
Only the wealthiest like Mbappe can afford to live in Los Lagos I, where the mansions cost at least €10 million to buy, or around €20,000 a month to rent.
“(Mbappe’s house) has bright open spaces, build quality, and a lot of care with the details,” says Torres. “The (La Finca) brand makes them feel secure — they buy luxury brand watches and cars, so obviously it’s the same in real estate.”
Torres has a long family connection with football and Madrid. His father Juan Torres was a co-founder of construction giant ACS, along with Los Blancos’ president Florentino Perez. The architect worked with players, including Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo, to fit the individual touches each client wanted for their house within the harmonious aesthetic of the development.
“Working with clients is the most difficult part of the profession, especially those who are famous, have money, and are still young,” he says. “They always have their own ideas, but you have to know how to sell them your vision. I couldn’t say that Penelope (Cruz) or Javier (Bardem) were easier than Cristiano or Zidane.”
Architect Joaquin Torres worked on houses belonging to Zidane and Ronaldo (Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
Madrid’s England international Bellingham and his mother Denise also live in Los Lagos I, in a 700-square-metre, six-bedroom house with a home theater, sauna, gym, and pool in the garden. Recently retired former team-mate Kroos lives a few doors down the street. Around the corner is the mansion Hazard bought from singer Sanz for €11m in 2019.
While Cristiano Ronaldo and his family were living in La Finca, his mother Dolores Aveiro lived in Los Lagos II, where luxury chalets with big gardens and private pools cost from €2.5m to €5m to buy, or at least €4,000 a month to rent.
Industry sources told The Athletic that Mbappe’s mother Fayza Lamari has recently rented a property in Los Lagos II. Neighbors include his France team-mate Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid, Atletico coach Diego Simeone, as well as former Real Madrid players Guti and Alvaro Arbeloa.
On our visit to the area, The Athletic also caught a glimpse of the Los Lagos II properties from the adjacent pine-tree studded public park, where middle-aged joggers wearing designer sports gear and shades were enjoying a lovely sunny morning. One local resident said that footballers were rarely seen out and about, and that they make up a very small percentage of the total residents of La Finca.