Singer buys house near Portuguese capital after David Banda, 11, who she adopted from Malawi, joins the football team

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Madonna has reportedly moved to Lisbon after her 11-year-old son David Banda joined the Benfica football team youth academy.



The Portuguese weekly magazine Visão reported: “Madonna is no longer a tourist, she now lives in Lisbon.” It republished several pictures from Madonna’s Instagram account that show her visiting Portugal over the past couple of months.

Dream Big ⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️♥️⚽️ A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Aug 6, 2017 at 5:32pm PDT

We are Always Raising Malawi!! ⚽️♥️🇲🇼⚽️♥️🇲🇼⚽️♥️🇲🇼⚽️♥️🇲🇼⚽️♥️🇲🇼@raisingmalawi A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Aug 10, 2017 at 7:03am PDT

The singer has been staying in a Lisbon hotel after buying a house in the resort of Sintra, 17 miles (27km) north-east of the Portuguese capital.

The 19th-century building was put up for sale for €7.5m (£7m) and could take about six months to renovate, according to Visão.

David Banda, who Madonna adopted from Malawi in 2006, has joined the Benfica training centre in Seixal, Correio da Manhã reported.

How down-at-heel Lisbon became the new capital of cool Read more

The club accepted David Banda after his first test in the spring. He will stay at the academy until starting at a French high school in Lisbon, the newspaper reported, quoting a source close to Benfica.

Rumours about a possible move began when Madonna was spotted at the school in May. She joins celebrities including John Malkovich, Monica Bellucci and Michael Fassbender in owning a home in Lisbon.

The city has enjoyed a cultural renaissance in recent years and is regarded by many as hip, cheap and innovative.

David Banda is one of four children that Madonna, 59, has adopted from Malawi. She adopted twin four-year-old girls from the country in February and accepted undisclosed damages from Associated Newspapers last month over an article published by Mail Online.

Big. Brothers Are the Best!! 🇲🇼♥️💯🇲🇼♥️💯🇲🇼⚽️♥️😂😂😂🙏🏻 A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Aug 10, 2017 at 7:00am PDT

The article revealed the twin girls’ names, race, age and the fact that they lived in an orphanage in Malawi, and were the subject of pending applications for adoption by Madonna. Her solicitor said the singer would donate the damages to the Mercy James Institute for Paediatric Surgery in Malawi.