Madonna 'too fond of London' to leave after divorce battle

MADONNA may stay in London even after divorcing Guy Ritchie, it was reported today.

The singer, 50, had been expected to quit the capital for New York, taking her children with her.

Custody and access to the two children is likely to be a major stumbling block in the divorce especially if Madonna chooses to live in the US.

But one report today suggested she was too fond of London to quit after spending nearly a decade here. "Everyone expected Madonna to up sticks and go and live in New York, taking the children with her," a source told the Daily Mirror.

"But despite some of the unhappy memories that London holds, she still feels that it's the best base for the kids. They are happy at the school and she doesn't want anything to interfere with that."

The suggestion is apparently at odds with claims Madonna is expected in coming months "to go public" with Alex Rodriguez, who plays for the New York Yankees and is baseball's highest-paid player. One report today even went as far as to claim that Madonna wants to have a child with Rodriguez.

Reports over the weekend that a divorce settlement was being thrashed out appear to be dashed by allegations that Ritchie, a film director with an independent fortune estimated at £20 million, is, according to The Sun today, "determined to take her to the cleaners".

The newspaper quotes an alleged friend of Madonna who branded Ritchie a "gold-digger".

Madonna is worth around £300 million and Ritchie under English divorce law is entitled to as much as half of that.

It will be for Madonna's lawyer to argue why he should receive less. The first shots in the war over her fortune appeared to have been fired with claims Madonna's friends have nicknamed Ritchie "Material Guy", a pun on her Eighties hit single Material Girl.

The friend of Madonna told the Sun: "He hasn't earned a penny of it, yet wants to take, take, take."

The reality is that both sets of lawyers will be arguing over the size of Ritchie's divorce compensation and his access to their children while trying to keep the negotiations as amicable as possible at least at this stage.

Madonna has hired Fiona Shackleton, who represented Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills, while Ritchie has engaged Helen Ward, who secured Britain's highest divorce settlement.