So it was expected that 31-year-old French football striker Thierry Henry's divorce settlement with British model Claire Merry, 27, would be contentious.

She demanded £10 million (S$23.8 million) from the Barcelona player, who earns about £130,000 a week and is worth an estimated £25 million, when they split in September last year.

But the Sun revealed on Friday that the two have agreed on a settlement of £8 million.

'It was settled at the end of last week,' Merry's friend was quoted as saying. 'Claire is delighted. Neither she nor Thierry wanted to go back to court.'

The couple, who were married for four years after meeting during work on a television commercial, have a three-year-old daughter called Tea.