Cristian Ronaldo's former home, Woodford

Here I am outside the former home of overpaid Cristiano Ronaldo. It's in Woodford in Cheshire on a road lined with other large detached houses. I was on the way home from a stately home in the countryside and took a detour to have a look. Sadly the owners were in the front garden which prevented me from having a good look at the place. There's a stone entrance on the pavement and I could see a camera watching me too.

Cristiano lived here from 2003 to 2006 when he was playing for Manchester United. I’m not sure who owns the place now but in 2012 it was for sale for £1 million (probably worth double that now.) It’s too big for one person - five bedrooms and little bungalow as well. At the front there’s enough space for a few Bugattis, Porsches and McClarens and the lawn at the back is broad enough for a five-a-side match. Does one person really need five bathrooms?

When it was for sale a few reminders of Cristiano's stay were evident - the curtains, a shattered window from a kicked football and dart holes on the back of the office door. There were also broken parts from televisions around the cherry blossom tree. He would shoot footballs at them for target practice.

In 2003 burglars broke through a window and stole £30,000 of jewellery while Cristiano was playing an away match. Even then the 20-year-old player was earning £75,000/week and he let the police investigation close quietly (the stuff wasn’t even his - he’d been loaned a collection of Cartier watches and Dolce and Gabbana trinkets.) He probably had heavier things weighing on his mind as the time a woman had accused him of raping her in a London hotel.

When Cristiano lived here Manchester United Football Club owned the house. Previously it’d been lived in by Jaap Stam, midfielder José Kléberson and Laurent Blanc. Perhaps this house was jinxed as all these players were axed by manager Alex Ferguson. Cristinano moved to another grander and more private house in Alderley Edge (it's on my list.) I had a stroll around the area. There're some heavy-duty groundworks going on near the house and a wide expanse of land directly next to the house itself so it wouldn't surprise me if a motorway appears soon.