Would you like Cristiano Ronaldo to run your football club?
If you are a fan of UD Almeria you don’t get a choice; the five-time Ballon d’Or winner now owns 25% of the club with his Saudi business partners holding the rest. He hasn’t said much about his intentions but whatever role he wants he can have, almost. Head coach of the LaLiga2 promotion contenders, Rubi, said he would welcome his new boss with “open arms” if he wants to play for the team. It’s a good example of “managing up” because it’s not an option. Spanish law bans football club owners from also being players which scuppered my first instinct – that he was buying himself a ticket to play until he was 53 so he could make the 2038 World Cup.
A fellow cynic suggested that Cristiano might simply be the handsome face for the club and its Saudi owners, but I think he’s in it for real. He is a billionaire and though he might be able sell you a watch, a hotel room, or book you a padel court, he would surely find more satisfaction applying his knowledge to the game that brought him fame, respect and the love he craves.
He wouldn’t be alone. Sergio Ramos is leading a consortium currently in negotiations to buy Sevilla. He isn’t in Cristiano’s wealth league yet so his partners would put up most of the reported €400m and the 180-cap Spain defender would lead the football operations of the club.
Ramos’ former teammate and rival Gerard Pique started his ownership journey lower down the league system when he bought regional fifth tier Andorra in 2018. They are now in same division as Almeria – and Pique only bought one of their promotions! The club has been generously funded and well run by the footballer-turned-entrepreneur who has used his Barcelona connections and Andorra’s tax laws productively.
And perhaps Cristiano has cast an envious eye at David Beckham’s success with Inter Miami. The start up venture attracted huge sponsorship and great, if slightly faded, players. They won trophies and the club is worth is over a billion dollars. Again, Beckham is the active leader of the football side of the club.
Currently active players are also investing: Kylian Mbappe is the majority shareholder of Championnat National club SM Caen, who are managed by former France defender Gael Clichy, while Ngolo Kante owns the Belgian club Royal Excelsior Virton. Luka Modric has a stake in Championship club Swansea City although his role doesn’t seem particularly active – yet.
The huge wealth of modern players creates the prospect of more of them buying the clubs that once employed them. It hasn’t always worked well: the Brazilian Ronaldo had a rollercoaster ride in seven years as the majority shareholder of Real Valladolid, eventually selling up amid fan protests and allegations of him having lost interest in the project. But it wasn’t an unmitigated disaster, and the indications are that he made a profit, as he had when he sold his interest in Brazilian club Cruzeiro.
In England, the much-publicised takeover of eighth-tier Salford City by former Manchester United teammates Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt initially made a fascinating TV programme exploring whether the ex-pros could turn successful owners. It lost its lustre when they simply outspent their divisional rivals and then partly sold out to Valencia’s owner and vandal-in-chief Peter Lim.
The TV programme about Salford City was later outstripped when Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac bought Wrexham, a Welsh club that played in tier five of the English leagues. It has been an unmitigated success with the club achieving an unprecedented three consecutive promotions and now sitting with a feasible chance of promotion to the Premier League. The genius of the programme is that it recognises that football is more than a business or even a sport but an essential part of its local community. The irony is that grassroots tale has created a global TV show which has helped make the club a runaway marketing success. Of course, it helps to have two charismatic Hollywood actors driving your publicity but Reynolds and Mac give us another clue that Almeria could have successful days around the corner.
Football clubs are now subject to financial restraints that prevent a tech boss, fossil fuel magnate or autocratic state from outspending their rivals and creating rocketing inflation. Clubs must find revenue streams to fund squad spending. Wrexham’s showbusiness status means they attract global sponsors to what was a regional club and have been able to constantly upgrade their playing staff.
🇵🇹👀 CRISTIANO CELEBRA LA VICTORIA DEL ALMERÍA
💰 El astro portugués compró el 25% de las acciones del club a través de la filial CR7 Sports
— Post United (@postunited) March 9, 2026
Can we think of a footballer as famous as Reynolds? Beckham, yes. But more famous still…
Almeria’s social media following rocketed after Cristiano bought his stake, shooting from 489,000 to 3.2 million on Instagram alone, but if he remains a distant shareholder, then we perhaps shouldn’t expect much more than that. But an active Cristiano, perhaps starring in a TV show, would create for Almeria a celebrity status it has never had. He would need wise commercial heads around him to exploit that to the full, but it is more than possible as Inter Miami have shown. We should probably be patient because he isn’t showing signs of quitting his playing career yet, but the day is coming.
So, my answer to the question is: yes, I wouldn’t mind at all. Real Madrid’s most famous and impactful figure ever was player-turned-manager-turned-stadium Santiago Bernabeu. La Liga President Javier Tebas once said Pique will be a future president of Barcelona. If they can win elections, why can’t they turn their knowledge, passion and bank accounts to running commercial clubs? Give me Cristiano, Ramos or Beckham over a capital investment group. Sorry, let’s be more accurate: give me a capital investment group with Cristiano, Ramos or Beckham at its helm over one without.
