The English midfielder played for Aston Villa, Birmingham, and Brentford before retiring from sport in 2021.
KEY POINTS
Jota made the switch from football player to millionaire businessman by investing in Groinn, a firm that develops agricultural technology.
Jota’s astute investments brought her enormous wealth, transforming her from a struggling English gamer to a financial billionaire.
Due of its explosive expansion, Groinn is expected to be valued £3 billion, break into Asian markets, and transform agricultural technology.
Many would have laughed in your face if someone had told you that Jota, the former midfielder for Birmingham City, could become a billionaire by the time he turned 35.
Despite having a lackluster professional career, the Spaniard decided to hang up his boots in 2022 and put his money into Groinn, an agricultural technology startup.
Since then, the former playmaker for Brentford and Aston Villa has seen his firm take off. He is now concentrating on growing Groinn’s presence into major markets, particularly Asia, with yearly forecasts indicating the company will be valued £3 billion in three years.
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 Spanish player would have a rough start to the next campaign due to ankle ligament damage that needed to be repaired surgically. In January 2016, he would return to Eibar, but a year later, he was called up to Brentford, where he finished the season with 12 goals in 23 games. Although they would want to move to St. Andrew’s, the Bees would offer Jota an extension.
According to reports, Jota’s four-year contract exceeded £6 million, making him the most costly signing for Blues since they acquired Nicola Zigic in 2010. The Spaniard’s career would come to an end due to a hamstring strain he sustained in his second game of the season, as manager Steve Cotterill lost faith in him.
Jota’s career at Birmingham appeared to be revived with Garry Monk’s move to the West Midlands, as the midfield player was instrumental in the Blues’ 2017–18 campaign to avoid relegation. The following season, he would be a regular again, finishing with three goals and eleven assists.
In 2019, Jota signed a two-year contract with the newly promoted Premier League team, Aston Villa, which is Birmingham’s local rival. He was reunited with manager Dean Smith, who he had previously worked with at Brentford.
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.
