LA fires: Former Arsenal footballer Carlos Vela loses £3.3m Malibu home as wildfires rip through Los Angeles - wife shares emotional update

Vela's wife revealed on Thursday (9 January) that their £3.3m 5,121-square-foot Malibu home burned down in flames in the Los Angeles wildfires that are raging on. She wrote on Instagram: “Our beautiful Malibu home burned down yesterday... We are still in shock with everything that's happening.

“It's very sad and scary to see everything burning. To all the messages of concern that are being sent to us, we are safe. Sending much love to all those affected and hopefully they will soon manage to put out the fire.”

Vela has been a star of MLS side LA FC since his arrival in 2018. He showed off the families lavish home in a Christmas Instagram post last month.

The property reportedly boasted five bedrooms, more than five bathrooms, a chef's kitchen fit with a breakfast bar and center island, as well as a dining room, living room, main room, cinema room, wine cellar and a guest suite. The home reportedly included a spa, multimedia room and three suites with bathrooms and a laundry room. The property sat on land of almost 6,500-square-feet and included a swimming pool.

Several celebrities have seen their homes burn down including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton. Crystal and his wife, Janice, released a statement on Wednesday saying their home of 45 years in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood was lost.

Hilton posted a news video clip on Instagram and said it included footage of her destroyed home in Malibu. She said: “This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London.”

The Top Gun star, Miles Teller, and his wife have also lost their home. The couple bought the 6,600 square foot, Cape Cod style villa in April 2023 and it was located between the Palisades Bluffs and Palisades Village. They paid $7.5 million for the home that was built in 2015 and had three storeys with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms.