The midfielder retired from football in 2021 having spent time with Aston Villa, Birmingham and Brentford in England.
If someone had told you that former Birmingham City midfielder, Jota, could be a billionaire by the time he was 35-years-old, many would have laughed in your face.
While not having the most distinguished of professional careers, the Spaniard hung up his boots in 2022 and chose to invest his money in an agricultural technology company called Groinn.
Since, the former Aston Villa and Brentford playmaker has seen his business venture take off, with focus now on expanding Groinn’s reach into large territories, including Asia, with annual projections of the company being worth £3 billion in three years time.
Jota’s football career
Having risen through the ranks at Celta Vigo’s academy, Jota would only make a handful of first-team appearances for the club he joined at 13-years-old, He joined Real Madrid Castilla on loan ahead of the 2012/13 campaign, but was confined to the bench, playing three times.
Jota would find success during the second loan spell of his career with Eibar in the Segunda División, instantly breaking into the first-team fold and making 37 appearances that season and helping the club win promotion to La Liga, finishing the season with 11 goals.
A deal to join the Spanish side was discussed, but would return to Celta Vigo and make a permanent transfer to newly-promoted Championship side, Brentford.
He would initially struggle with the intensity of the English game, but would rediscover his goal-scoring touch midway through the season, helping the Bees reach the play-off semi-finals in which they would lose out to Middlesborough – Jota finishing the season with 11 goals in all competitions.
The Spaniard would endure a difficult start to the following campaign, suffering damaged ankle ligaments that required surgery. He would rejoin Eibar in January 2016 but was recalled to Brentford a year later, going on to score end the season with 12 goals in 23 games. The Bees would offer Jota an extension, but would prefer a move to St. Andrew’s.
It was reported that Jota had become Blues’ most expensive signing at the time, with his four-year deal rising above £6 million, more than what they paid for Nicola Zigic in 2010. A hamstring strain picked up in his second appearance of the season would be the beginning of the end for the Spaniard, with manager, Steve Cotterill, losing confidence in him.
Garry Monk’s arrival in the West Midlands seemingly reignited Jota’s Birmingham career, with the midfielder playing a huge role in Blues avoiding relegation in the 2017/18 season. He would be a regular once more the following term, providing three goals and 11 assists over the course of the campaign.
Jota signed for Birmingham’s local rivals Aston Villa in 2019, agreeing a two-year contract with the newly promoted Premier League club, and was reunited with manager Dean Smith, with whom he had worked at Brentford.
However, just a year later, Jota left Villa Park after reaching an agreement for the termination of his contract. He would return to Spain and turn out for Alaves on a one-year deal, leaving the club at the end of the season. Despite reportedly receiving offers from Saudi Arabia, Jota decided to retire from football, aged just 31, and that decision proved to change his life.
Jota set to become a billionaire by next year.
Upon hanging up his boots and deciding against a return to the beautiful game, Jota decided to focus on his business, a company called Groinn.
The 32-year-old is now involved in the agricultural technology sector, with his business having recently agreed a deal with the Spanish government and is on course to be worth £600 million in 2025.
The technology provided aids farmers with tasks such as watering plants and adapting to climate change, a service previously available at an eye-watering £25,700.
However, Groinn offers its services at £175, making the technology more accessible to farmers across the country, which has led to its recent success. In its first year in business, Groinn had 150,000 users.
But, the growth of the company does not stop there. Groinn’s annual projection is set to take a sharp rise in year three to a jaw-dropping £3 billion, with the company expected to explore new markets in Portugal, Northern Europe and North America, and has plans to provide digital agricultural aid to every agriculturalist in Spain by 2030.
The former Blues midfielder likened his company to the iPhone in an interview with The Athletic earlier this year, valuing his company at “10 times more” than the money he originally invested.
While some footballers would choose to sit back and enjoy their retirement, Jota has moved into overdrive and become a successful businessman, using his time as a professional footballer smartly and investing his earnings, rather than spending them, to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs to have ever played the beautiful game.
