A property tycoon who lost his wife to footballer Cesc Fabregas and then his family home through the courts to the former Arsenal star has lashed out at the British justice system.

Elie Taktouk branded the courts “appalling” and claimed to have suffered a “gross injustice” after a judge refused to halt the £5.48 million sale of his Grade II-listed Belgravia flat to the Spanish star with Barcelona who once captained Arsenal of England.

Mr Taktouk, 38, was forced to sell the property, just yards from Buckingham Palace, in order to raise a £1.4cmillion lump sum for ex-wife Daniella Semaan so she can buy a new home in the capital, says a report in London Evening Standard.

He claims the court allowed his wife’s new lover to buy the home for what he said was £2 million below its market value at the same time as getting a pay-out from the divorce proceedings, the report says.

In his first interview since the Court of Appeal ruling last month, Mr Taktouk told London Evening Standard: “They (the courts) are not interested if you are right or wrong they are just trying to protect the woman, they protect the badly behaved ones, not the well behaved ones who are dedicated to their work, family or life – they don’t get anything.

“It’s the one who sits at home all day (who are favoured by the courts).

“They didn’t allow me to buy her out. So I said, ‘Fine if you’re not allowing me to buy her out I have people here who could exchange and complete in three to four working days. This is the value of the property.

“They said no. So okay, fine, sell it to her boyfriend, but sell it at the correct value.

“But they say, ‘No we decide how to sell and at what price,’

“It’s a gross injustice that the system has done and will continue to do with everyone. I would like to tell people to be careful what they get into and take the necessary precautions.”

He added: “As much as I respect the system, the family courts in our country are appalling. It’s just a wake-up call for other men – it’s terrible.

“It’s not about justice, it’s about what’s convenient.”

Taktouk and his ex-wife married when they were 24 and living in Lebanon. They had two children before their separation in 2011, months after Miss Semaan was seen on holiday with Fabregas. She gave birth to the 26-year-old footballer’s baby in April.

During divorce proceedings it emerged that Fabregas was behind a Barcelona company that had placed an offer on the Belgravia flat within three weeks of it going on the market.

Despite Mr Taktouk’s efforts to block the sale to the multi-millionaire footballer, the Court of Appeal threw out his application.

Miss Semaan has claimed Fabregas bought the flat as an investment and plans to rent it out.

London Evening Standard says that neither Fabregas nor Miss Semaan could be reached for comment.

•Photo: Fabregas nor Mr Taktouk’s ex-wife.

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