Beckham leads England to Dubai

If David Beckham misses his Manchester United and England teammates while he's in Madrid, he can always catch up with them when he goes to his new luxury holiday home in Dubai.

It was announced yesterday that Beckham, Michael Owen and nine other members of the England squad have bought £1m five-bedroomed villas on an artificial resort island being built off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Beckham's former team mates Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have all bought homes on The Palm complex, as have Owen and other England regulars Wayne Bridge, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Kieron Dyer. The Dubai 11 will even have a goalkeeper - David James.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of The Palm, said they had all bought on the first of two identical islands being "reclaimed" off Dubai's exclusive Jumeirah coast.

During their warm-up in Dubai before last year's World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea, the England squad were taken on a private visit to The Palm's sales office and given a computer-simulated tour of what the islands will look like when completed.

It is understood the squad's decision to buy was helped with the offer of a discount from Dubai's Crown Prince, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

The England goalkeeping coach, Ray Clemence, and physio, Stephen Slattery, have also bought villas.