A former top level footballer has been ordered to pay his ex-wife £200,000-a-year maintenance despite having “no capital” left after their 19-month marriage .
The former Premier League star, in his 20s, earned over £2million-a-year, but admitted that he and his wife spent huge sums living a life of luxury.
Together, they rented a £52,000-a-year home and he regularly surprised her with gifts of designer handbags and expensive jewellery.
She admitted she had an extensive collection “from Christian Louboutin to Chanel”, some of which she had worn only once.
However, they split after only 19 months of marriage, leading to a costly High Court row over maintenance.
The player, accused his ex of thinking she had “hit the jackpot” by marrying a footballer.
Her demand for £318,000-a-year to fund herself and their child – and to purchase a home – was over-the-top, his lawyers claimed.
“She seems to believe that by marrying a top class footballer, she has hit the jackpot,” said his barrister, Stewart Leech QC.
“Her approach to this case has been categorised by a desire to spend, spend, spend.”
Her aim in the case was to get as much money as she could to fund “an unrealistic and aspirational lifestyle”, he added.
“She insists that she should be entitled to a lavish lifestyle in the here and now.”
The wife, who lives in London, asked Mrs Justice Roberts to order that she receive £318,000-a-year.
That would allow her to fund living costs and to pay the mortgage on a £1.7m property for her and the former couple’s child, she said.
She also asked for lump sum payments from her ex-husband of at least £745,000, which would be put towards the new home.
The husband said there was no available capital to fund the purchase of a home and that she should instead stay in rented accommodation.
Giving judgment, Mrs Justice Roberts said the couple had managed to spend “at a prodigious rate” during their marriage.
“I am satisfied that the standard of living which they enjoyed over the course of their marriage was high,” she said.
“Both parties accept that they lived life to the full with virtually no constraints on their ability to indulge themselves in terms of discretionary spending on clothes, holidays and the paraphernalia which so often features in these lifestyle choices.”
She added: “What I do know is that there is little now to show for the significant income which he has earned over the course of the last 22 months.”
However, she said that even now he has left the Premier League gravy train, the husband is still earning about £1m-a-year.
“I am satisfied that this is a case where there are presently sufficient income resources to provide wife and child with the security, in due course, of their own home,” she continued.
The judge ordered the footballer to pay £200,000-a-year, which was enough so that his ex could pay towards the mortgage on a £700,000 property.
She will also get lump sums totalling about £300,000.
Mirror.co.uk
