Marcus Rashford is facing a 'staggering' bill to build his so-called dream project, according to a new report, as costs continue to rise amid ongoing delays.
The 27-year-old Manchester United forward, who is currently on loan at Barcelona, purchased a 63-acre Cheshire estate in 2020 for £2.25 million with the intention of transforming it into his forever home.
In fact, plans were reportedly drawn up to build a five-bedroom mansion complete with an indoor swimming pool and gym, as well as landscaped gardens and welfare plans for wildlife.
But five years on and the build is 'nowhere near finished', according to a report from The Sun, who claim the site has become overgrown amid suggestions that progress came to a halt following a 'dispute'.
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It is also said that the 'nightmare' project has been hit by floods, along with rising costs, after the initial plans changed. The report suggests delays could cost him £15 million.
A source told The Sun: “Marcus has spent millions on it already but faces spending millions more. There was a dispute in the summer. Work has recently started again but there’s slow progress."
They added: "It’s all about the money. Marcus fears the house isn’t ever going to be worth anywhere near what he’s put into it. But he’s between a rock and a hard place as he can’t just stop and leave it. He just wants to get it finished.”
A man who owns a farm next to the property was interviewed by the publication, after he was visited by a man who was 'acting on behalf of Marcus Rashford and his family a few weeks ago'.
He said: “He said he deals with land disputes. There’s a dispute about how much money they’ve paid out. He was asking us questions about the contractors. I told him what I knew and what I’d seen. He told me how much they had spent — it’s in the millions.”
The neighbour added: “His house is right where it’s boggy. We have a cellar and up until 2014 it was dry as a bone but now we have a pump to keep the water out because the water table is so high. So you can imagine next door going two floors down. It’s non-stop pumping out.
“The amount of heavy machines on there has been unbelievable. But there’s no sign of a finished article. No one knows what’s going to happen to it. There are all sorts of rumours but I’ve never even seen Rashford here. The costs involved are staggering, even for someone on £350,000 a week.
“We never objected to the planning. We did complain to the site manager once because you get lots of weeds. Then when the weeds seed they blow towards us. One particular weed is poisonous to our horses - ragwort.”
SPORTbible has reached out to Marcus Rashford's representatives for comment. A spokesperson for Rashford denied the project faced any issues, as per The Sun.
Topics: Marcus Rashford, Man Utd, Barcelona
Jack Kenmare