Iona Napier
THE billionaire sheikh boss of Manchester City is the proud owner of a luxurious new Spanish bolthole.
Mansour bin Zayed, also Deputy PM of the United Arab Emirates and a member of its royal family, has purchased a ‘modest’ €55 million hamlet in Extremadura.
The estate, Los Quintos de San Martin in Badajoz, is larger than 8,000 football pitches and comprises 14 separate cortijos, partridges and 8,000 sheep.
Sheikh Mansour is already making his presence felt in the local community, applying for permissions for a 2.5km-long aircraft landing strip and a dam in the Rio Matachel, also making plans for a Halal slaughterhouse and transportation for meat back to the Arab world.
The previous owner, Jerez businessman Ramon Mora-Figueroa Domecq, sold the hunting estate for €40 million plus added costs.
Located near the quaint town of Valencia de las Torres, home to 700 inhabitants, the property has hosted a procession of royal and aristocratic visitors over the years. The family of Franco have hunted hunted there, as well as Juan Carlos when he was king.
The heliport has also been graced by the Botin family of Santander fame, and the powerful March family.
Since the Sheikh’s arrival, scores of families have made personal pilgrimages to the sleepy town to drop off their CVs in a bid for a slice of the billionaire family’s prosperity.
In fact, Spanish media confirmed the owners were forced to erect a fence around the complex to keep them out.
Mansour bin Zayed is one of the richest men in football, worth €25 billion.
