England star Trent Alexander-Arnold can finally enjoy a well-deserved victory after being granted permission to keep a £50,000 padel court he constructed in the garden of his £5 million Cheshire mansion.

The Liverpool defender, who is rumored to be a prime target for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, had initially built the sports facility without the necessary council approval. This led to concerns from his neighbors, who worried that the potential noise from games might disturb their tranquility.

The opulent five-acre estate already features a range of luxurious amenities, including a swimming pool, cinema, games room, bar, wildlife pond, and paddock. Despite these lavish features, the addition of the padel court was met with resistance. Alexander-Arnold, who is currently in a relationship with Iris Law, daughter of actor Jude Law, faced the possibility of having to dismantle the court due to local objections.

However, in a turn of events, council officials sided with Alexander-Arnold, affirming that the padel court complies with planning regulations and does not adversely affect the surrounding area. They commended the construction of the court, noting that it is well-screened by substantial boundary planting, which effectively hides it from public view and minimizes its impact on the open countryside.

The case officer remarked that the court’s location, surrounded by dense vegetation, ensures that any visual intrusion is contained within the estate, making it barely noticeable from outside the property.

‘The size of the panel court is also not considered to be excessively large for private use with a footprint of 130sqm and predominant height of 3m and a maximum height of 4m for the side panels which consists of a light weight mesh above. The black colour also helps the proposal to blend in with the existing boundary treatment.

‘Therefore given the relatively small scale nature of the proposal and its screening from public vantage points, it is not considered that the proposal would cause unacceptable harm to the character and appearance of the surrounding area or the wider open countryside.

‘The proposal for private use and its limited size is also not considered to cause significant harm to amenity through noise/disturbance and is not considered to be significantly different in these terms to other sport/recreational uses usually found within the open countryside.’

‘The key consideration is whether the proposed development would result in unacceptable harm to the amenity, character and appearance of the area.

‘The glass panels and metal framework for the padel court is not visible from the road and there is no visibility from any public right of way in the area.’

Pop star Shakira, Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas, supermodel Elle Macpherson and rapper Stormzy are among celebrities who have championed padel tennis.

Top footballers Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Beckham have also become hooked on the sport.