The Wagatha Christie case cost Rebekah Vardy an estimated £3 million in legal bills by the time the final costs were settled in May 2025. Within weeks, the family’s £9.7 million holiday villa in Portugal’s Quinta do Lago was listed for sale through Knight Frank.
Friends of the couple insist the timing was coincidental. The family had already fallen for Lake Garda in northern Italy during a 2024 holiday, Jamie had signed for Serie A club Cremonese by September, and keeping a holiday home in the Algarve no longer made practical sense. That is the account from the Vardys’ camp, and they have not budged from it.
Whatever the driving factor, the sequence ran across fewer than four months: legal costs finalised in May 2025, the Quinta do Lago villa listed in June, the family relocated to Italy by September. As of April 2026, the Portugal property is still on the market.
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The Quinta do Lago Villa: What Is Actually Being Sold
The property sits inside Quinta do Lago, one of Portugal’s most exclusive private resort communities, on a 0.64-acre plot spread across four levels. It overlooks the 18th green of the resort’s North Course in the Algarve. Knight Frank, who hold the listing, describe it as “a magnificent property” and “a true haven for modern living.”
| Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Asking Price | £9.7 million |
| Location | Quinta do Lago, Algarve, Portugal |
| Bedrooms | 6 |
| Swimming Pools | 3 |
| Plot Size | 0.64 acres |
| Levels | 4 |
| Outlook | 18th green, North Course |
| Listed Through | Knight Frank |
The villa includes a private gym, sauna, steam room, cinema room, and multiple terraces, with the rooftop offering views across the full resort. Knight Frank note the property sits “within walking distance of the golf course and other renowned amenities within the Quinta do Lago resort.”
Before the listing, the Vardys had rented the property out at up to £30,000 per week. Their neighbours inside the resort include Alan Shearer, John Terry, Holly Willoughby, and Phillip Schofield, according to The Sun.
The Wagatha Christie Legal Costs: A £3 Million Bill and a Villa Listed Weeks Later
The Wagatha Christie case started in October 2019 when Coleen Rooney publicly accused Vardy’s Instagram account of leaking fabricated stories to The Sun. Vardy sued Rooney for libel in 2020. The High Court ruled against her in July 2022.
Legal timeline:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| October 2019 | Rooney publicly accuses Vardy’s account of leaking stories to The Sun |
| June 2020 | Vardy files High Court libel claim against Rooney |
| July 2022 | Court rules in Rooney’s favour; Vardy described as an “untrustworthy witness” |
| October 2022 | Vardy ordered to pay 90% of Rooney’s costs; immediate £800,000 payment made |
| April 2025 | High Court rejects Vardy’s appeal against the costs ruling |
| May 2025 | Final settlement confirmed: Vardy pays Rooney a total of £1,402,266.20 |
Rooney’s full legal bill came to £1,833,906.89. The agreed settlement of £1,402,266.20 comprised £1,190,000 in settled costs and £212,266.20 in assessed costs. Vardy’s own legal fees across the full case are estimated to have exceeded £2 million, putting the combined financial toll at roughly £3 million.
Closing the proceedings, Costs Judge Mark Whalan told both parties they “can put this matter behind them.” The Quinta do Lago listing followed weeks later.
What the Vardys’ Camp Says
A source close to the couple gave The Sun a direct response to the obvious question about timing:
“They had some great times there but just decided it was time for a change. It’s actually laughable for anyone to think it has anything to do with the court case. Nothing could be further from the truth. And that’s shown by the fact they are looking for a new holiday pad.”
Why the Family Left Portugal Behind: The Italy Move
The most straightforward explanation for the sale, separate from the legal costs entirely, comes down to where the Vardy family now lives.
Jamie Vardy left Leicester City in May 2025 after 13 years, playing his 500th and final game for the club on the exact calendar date he had first signed for them in 2012. He scored his 200th goal for Leicester that afternoon before leaving the pitch to a standing ovation.
He signed for Cremonese, a newly promoted Serie A club in northern Italy, on a free transfer on September 1, 2025. The whole family relocated with him, settling into a £2 million villa in Salò, a lakeside town on Lake Garda around 80 kilometres from Cremonese’s training ground. It was not an impulsive move. A source told GB News that Rebekah had developed a strong connection to the Lake Garda area during a family holiday there in 2024, before Jamie’s Cremonese deal was even on the table:
“Becky fell in love with the place when they holidayed there last year, and they’ve made friends already.”
With the whole family permanently based in northern Italy, the Quinta do Lago villa had no obvious function left.
The 2022 Wildfire: A Safety Scare That Did Not Help
A separate factor sits alongside the financial and lifestyle context: in 2022, wildfires swept through the Quinta do Lago area and came close enough to the Vardy property to force neighbouring residents to evacuate.
A family source told the Daily Express at the time: “It’s been horrifying. Their neighbours have all been evacuated and one by one residents are being told to leave their homes. Becky can see smoke everywhere and she’s terrified about the kids breathing it in. The water is also down so she’s relying on bottled water.”
Reports have cited that wildfire scare as a contributing factor behind the eventual decision to sell the Algarve property.
Is £9.7 Million a Realistic Asking Price?
Quinta do Lago is one of the most expensive property markets in Portugal. Strict planning regulations mean only around 8% of the resort’s 2,000-plus acres is developed, which limits supply and supports values year on year. The average price per square metre in the resort sits at €10,825 in 2025, with luxury villas averaging around €5 million in completed sale price.
At £9.7 million, the Vardy villa sits at nearly double that average.
An estate agent, speaking anonymously to the Daily Mail, called the asking price “on the optimistic side,” even accounting for Algarve property values that have risen by up to 16% in recent years:
“It’s undoubtedly a stunning and very modern property, but there are many more traditionally-styled places in that area which some people might prefer, of similar size, but priced a lot more competitively.”
Knight Frank’s marketing leans into the villa’s contemporary four-level design and its golf-course outlook as differentiators. The tension between that pitch and the broader market reality is reflected in how long the property has sat without a confirmed buyer.
The Rebekah Vardy Property Sale, Eleven Months Later
The Quinta do Lago villa was listed in early June 2025. As of April 2026, it remains available through Knight Frank — eleven months on, no completed sale confirmed, no price reduction reported publicly.
Jamie’s Cremonese contract runs to June 2026. The family is settled in Salò, on Lake Garda. The Vardys have moved on while the Portugal property waits for a buyer at a price at least one market professional has already called optimistic.
