Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
From Snatch to match for Guy
Movie boss builds full-scale footie pitch at his home
MOVIE director Guy Ritchie is always open to a good pitch – and now he’s built a full-size one at his country estate.
Complete with goalposts, nets and deckchairs for spectators, the painstakingly painted touchlines will surprise ramblers in the valley where Guy, 52, has his 1,200-acre retreat.
The Snatch director bought Ashcombe House estate near Salisbury, Wiltshire, for £9million 20 years ago with then-wife Madonna.
The singer posed in tweeds for a Vogue photoshoot in the
Grade II-listed Georgian manor house to signal her incarnation as an English lady. After they split in 2008, Guy transformed it into an upmarket bachelor pad.
He expanded its top-class game shoot to host shooting parties for wealthy guests for as much as £15,000 a day, and has also hosted clay pigeon meets for Hollywood pals including Brad Pitt and Robert Downey Jr.
Surrounded by 10ft fences despite a maze of public footpaths running through it, the estate is also dotted with “wilderness pods” where Chelsea fan Guy has late-night cook-outs.
Now married to ex-model Jacqui
Ainsley, Guy appears to be following in the footsteps of England legend David Beckham – who installed a full-size pitch at his Cotswold home last year.
The former player is a close pal and even appeared in the director’s 2017 King Arthur film Legend of the Sword.
Guy hosts regular get-togethers at the estate with Beckham, 46, and his boys Brooklyn, 22, Romeo, 18, and Cruz, 16, who are good friends with Guy’s son with Madonna, Rocco, 21.
And if they fancy a kickabout there should be no problem with half-time refreshments – Guy has even built a brewery on the estate making his own Gritchie-branded beer and gin.