Seething Sol turns detective as tenant ‘cheats him out of £1.5m’

BORN and brought up in East London, the youngest of 12 children crammed into a terrace house, Sol Campbell became one of English football’s greatest centre-backs. But I can reveal that he has just had a bitter lesson that, even in retirement, it’s possible to be the victim of foul play — which, on this occasion, has, he says, left him a staggering £1.5 million out of pocket.

‘Sol recently let out his mansion in Chelsea,’ I’m told. ‘It’s magnificent — six storeys, eight bedrooms, overlooking the Thames, with a garden at the front and another at the back.’

There was a problem. ‘The tenant didn’t pay the rent. Sol’s had to go to court to get an eviction order.’

When I ring Campbell, 47, I find him bristling with anger — not just with the tenant but also with grand estate agents, Savills.

‘Savills got the guy in,’ he tells me, explaining that Campbell and his wife, Fiona, an acclaimed interior designer and granddaughter of Barratt Homes founder Sir Lawrie Barratt, decided to let the Chelsea house last summer. Initially, all seemed well. The tenant had apparently just sold his insurance business — ‘for £1billion,’ says Campbell. A twoyear contract was duly signed.

‘He paid the deposit and three months’ rent.’ But that was it: not a penny more was paid. Campbell moved on to the offensive, hiring a private investigator. ‘The tenant has done a lot to take himself off the internet but he was named in the Panama Papers,’ Campbell adds, referring to the files containing financial records about wealthy individuals and government officials which, in some cases, expose fraud and tax evasion. Other details tumbled out. ‘He’s apparently getting divorced, he’s paying two or three staff, he’s paying school fees. He’s paying everyone — except me.’ The eviction order takes effect later this month.

But Sol and Fiona have had enough: their trophy house is on the market — for £23 million.

A Savills spokesman says references and credit checks were conducted, telling me:

‘The decision to proceed with a tenancy rests solely with the property owner.’