Karim Benzema has bought several residences at Mercedes-Benz Places | Binghatti City and a luxury residence at Vision Iconic, adding the French forward to a short list of footballers committed to developments still being delivered by Binghatti, the private developer behind several of the emirate’s branded residential projects. His purchases place him among a growing group of international buyers whose commitments are tied to projects at various stages of construction.
The announcement came during the launch of Vision Iconic at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, where a signing ceremony took place between Benzema and Abdullah Binghatti, Head of Sales, in the presence of company chairman Muhammad BinGhatti, alongside entrepreneurs, investors and invited guests.
For Binghatti, the transaction is the latest in a sequence that began in April 2024, when former Germany international and Bayer Leverkusen player Karim Bellarabi acquired a luxury residence at Mercedes-Benz Places | Binghatti, a development created in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz in the heart of Dubai. In November of the same year, Neymar Jr. purchased an ultra-luxury Sky Mansion valued at AED 200 million at Bugatti Residences by Binghatti, the world’s first residential development carrying the Bugatti brand. That residence is designed with a private car lift offering direct vehicle access to the home, along with a private swimming pool and panoramic views of Dubai’s skyline. In February 2025, Spanish international Aymeric Laporte became an owner at the same development after acquiring a luxury penthouse. Benzema joined the group in October 2026 with multiple residences across Binghatti developments.
The scale of the pipeline behind these purchases is considerable. Mercedes-Benz Places | Binghatti City, located in Meydan, is described as the world’s first residential city bearing the Mercedes-Benz name. The AED 30 billion project spans more than 10 million square feet and is master-planned around 12 towers within a fully integrated residential destination. Delivery of such a scheme, in phases and at that scale, is the operational test that will determine whether the confidence shown by high-profile buyers translates into completed homes.
Meanwhile, Binghatti’s wider book of work gives some measure of the execution involved. The company’s portfolio comprises more than 100 real estate projects with a combined value exceeding AED 100 billion, alongside approximately 60 completed developments. Its activity covers multiple segments of the property market, including luxury and ultra-luxury real estate and branded residences, meaning a substantial share of its pipeline remains in progress rather than handed over.
Muhammad BinGhatti framed the star buyers as evidence of the company’s standing and its capacity to attract an exceptional segment of international buyers. “We do not simply develop luxury residences; we create destinations with a global identity, bringing together distinctive design, exceptional quality, strategic locations and partnerships with some of the world’s most renowned brands,” he said. He added that the growing presence of global stars within the company’s community of owners also reflects Dubai’s established position as one of the world’s leading destinations for wealth, investment and ultra-luxury real estate.
What the sequence of acquisitions illustrates, in practical terms, is a delivery story running in parallel with a sales one. Each purchase, from Bellarabi’s in 2024 through Neymar’s, Laporte’s and now Benzema’s, was made against projects whose value rests on what is ultimately built and handed over: branded towers, a car lift delivering vehicles directly to a Sky Mansion, and a 12-tower residential city in Meydan. The buyers are betting on execution, and so is the developer, whose record of roughly 60 completed developments will be measured against a portfolio that has grown well beyond it. For now, the commitments keep arriving, and the work of turning them into finished residences continues across the company’s sites in Dubai. Whether the AED 30 billion Meydan scheme is delivered on its phased timeline will be the clearest signal of how that bet plays out.