$76 Million? Well Played, Mr. Ritchie, Well Played…

Madonna will pay Guy Ritchie between $76 and $92 million as part of divorce settlement

A day after falling back on her tuchus in front of 70,000 fans, Madonna settled her divorce with her appropriately named ex-husband, Guy Ritchie.

The Material Girl's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, told The Associated Press that the settlement was in the range of 50 million to 60 million pounds ($76 million to $92 million), including the value of the couple's country home in western England and their west London pub, the Punchbowl.

The couple was reportedly worth some $525 million, the vast majority of which belonged to Madonna. Ritchie stands to triple his net worth when the ink dries on his walking papers.

The multimillion-pound (dollar) settlement is about twice the size paid out by former Beatle Paul McCartney to model Heather Mills.
 
Dumping the real estate holdings in England makes sense for Madonna, said U.K.-based entertainment lawyer Ambi Sitham.

"She's got no interest in remaining here," Sitham said. "She's relocating and moving back to New York. It's money she's already paid out — what is she going to do, try to sell the houses in a flagging market?"

Rosenberg said that while the financial component of the settlement had been worked out, custodial arrangements for the couple's children have yet to be finalized.

Madonna and Ritchie, director of "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," have two children, Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006. The singer has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from a previous relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon.

After years of rumor and speculation – and talk of a romance between Madonna and New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez – the couple announced their split in October.
 
The Material Girl Takes a Tumble
They were granted a preliminary divorce decree on Nov. 21 and the split is expected to become final in January.

Madonna sang before a huge crowd Sunday night at the famed Maracana soccer stadium, falling over backwards mid strut.
 
Rather than bouncing back to her feet, she decided to play it off by rolling around on stage for a bit. But moments later she was back in action, walking over to a back-up dancer dressed as her "Like a Virgin" self and planting a kiss on her.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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