EXCLUSIVE Football legend Tony Adams set to make huge profit after putting his stunning Cotswolds mansion on the market for £4.25million

Daily Mail​

05-05-2025

Football legend Tony Adams is selling his country mansion where he retreated to the quiet life after putting his wild man days behind him.
The former England and Arsenal captain has decided it's time to move on and has put the magnificent nine-bedroom country pile on the market for £4.25million.
Strictly star Adams, 58, is hoping to net a tidy profit on the hideaway in the Cotswolds which he bought more than 20 years ago for £2 million.
Adams bought the property - which has an outdoor swimming pool and tennis court - from a millionaire businessman straight after hanging up his boots following a 19-year career playing at centre back for the Premier League club.
Adams, the son of a roofer who grew up in Dagenham, Essex, said at the time: 'I can live where I want to for the first time and I've gone for a bit of peace. I've always been an outdoor guy.'
Shortly after moving in he married second wife whisky heiress Poppy Teacher, 52, and the couple quickly settled into country life in their bolthole which is on the edge of a quaint village not far from King Charles ' Highgrove estate.
The property is set in more than five acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and enjoys far-reaching views of the surrounding countryside.
The grounds feature a separate detached two bedroom cottage as well as former stables with planning permission for extra accommodation.
The 'charming' main house - described by estate agents as having 'the perfect blend of elegance, comfort and tranquility' - boasts 'classic architecture with a touch of Cotswold charm'.
The interior is said to provide 'versatile entertainment spaces for every occasion.'
These include a cinema and games room which features Arsenal team photos and memorabilia including his famous number 6 shirt, a pool table, table tennis and even a drum kit.
Particulars which accompany a slick video tour of the property also highlight the more traditional aspects of the property saying: 'From elegant drawing rooms and formal dining areas the house is adorned with period features, spacious rooms and high ceilings throughout creating a wealth of light and space.'
Upstairs a huge master bedroom has a large football style dressing room and ensuite bathroom and there are four further bedrooms one of which Adams used as an office.
There are four more bedrooms on the second floor including a number which are ensuite and there are seven bathrooms in all.
Over the years Adams has shared happy family photos on social media of his country life with Poppy and their three children - Atticus, Hector and Iris - as well as son Oliver, daughter Amber and step-daughter Clare from his first marriage.
And despite rumours of a feud he invited Strictly partner Katya Jones to spend time with his family there last year with the dancer posting on Instagram: 'Weekend with My Cotswold family. ❤ Dancing in the kitchen, shopping, singing, cooking and lots of hugs.'
It is a far cry from Adams' out-of-control life during his playing career when a 12-year downward spiral led to blackouts, fights, nights out with strippers and prostitutes and a drunken car crash which ended in a four month prison sentence.
Despite his success on the pitch helping Arsenal to a string of top flight titles and FA Cup wins he plunged into alcoholism at the height of his career.
Just before Christmas 1990, Adams staggered away from a drinks party and drove his car into a telegraph pole at 70 mph.
He was four times over the legal limit and was sentenced to four months' imprisonment. He served 56 days in Chelmsford prison.
Despite his spell in jail, Adams carried on boozing and in 1992, in the depths of his illness, he married Jane Shea, a barmaid and drug addict who he had met during one of his infamous blackouts.
Adams finally quit drinking in 1996 and opened up about his struggles in his autobiography 'Addicted' published in 1998.
The property is on the edge of a quaint village not far from King Charles ' Highgrove estate
Using money made from book sales, Adams set up the charity Sporting Chance in 2000 as a clinic to help sports people battle mental health issues and addictions.
He met Poppy towards the end of his career and the couple married in 2002.
Adams said: 'It was not lost on the media that I was a recovering alcoholic and Poppy came from the Teacher's whisky family.'
He added that it amused Poppy and he 'still woke up with a Teacher's in the morning'.
The couple headed off to their new life in the Cotswolds and quickly set about turning their property into a dream home.
In 2003, Adams applied for planning permission to convert the stables into a snooker room and build dormer windows into the roof of the main house.
He then splashed out on the outdoor swimming pool and pool house with a fire pit before demolishing an existing conservatory and courtyard wall.
In 2007, he built a new garden room and two-storey extension before applying in 2023 to convert the stables into a two-bedroom granny annexe.
But he was caught offside after a bat survey carried out ahead of the proposed development revealed that the furry mammals were roosting in the roof.
DNA analysis of more than 300 bat droppings confirmed the presence of three different species - lesser horseshoe, brown long-eared and serotine.
Adams was eventually given the go-ahead by planners but ordered to build a bat loft in a nearby car port and gym to provide an alternative roost for the protected species.
In an interview ahead of a Strictly Halloween special, he said of his bat issue: 'We get quite a lot in the house. We live in the country, sometimes they come in the house and I find that scary.'
Like true country folk, the family began raising their own pigs which Adams revealed during his stint on the popular TV dancing show which was cut short by injury.
He told how he had cheekily named one after his dancing partner while the others are called Claudia Winklepig and Anton du Pig.