Imagine: You are a man in his early 20s who has never owned a bedside lamp, let alone a home. You have many girlfriends, but are effectively single. Suddenly you move to a city you have never seen before, where you can afford to buy any house (or houses) you like. You do not know whether you will stay for nine months or a lifetime. You will be gawked at every time you drive out of your electric gates.

This is the situation in which many footballers will find themselves when they change clubs in this month's transfer window. How will they cope? How and where do the world's best players live?