Former Manchester United midfielder and Spanish international Juan Mata has taken a new step in his professional career. The former Valencia player, who is currently active with the Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia, has become a co-owner of San Diego FC, a Major League Soccer team with great growth potential. The Californian team’s top star is Mexican player Hirving Lozano.
In this way, the winner of the Champions League and the Europa League with Chelsea follows the path started by David Beckham, the first international player to invest in an MLS club. The Englishman is one of the four owners of Inter Miami, with players in the squad such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, or Sergio Busquets.
Mata sees this project as a promising option. “Joining San Diego FC as a partner is an exciting opportunity to help build something truly special in a city and a league that are experiencing incredible growth,” points out the Euro 2012 champion.
The former Spanish World Cup champion from 2010 has already embarked on a long journey with initiatives outside of soccer. In 2017, he launched the charitable movement Common Goal, with the mission of encouraging as many players as possible to donate 1% of their earnings to social causes.
In terms of his business ventures, Mata has been part of a multimillion-dollar investment fund since 2023 that has acquired a quarter of the capital of Alpine, the Formula 1 racing team. Actor Ryan Reynolds and NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes are other sports personalities who have made the same business decision.
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