Legendary Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo has ventured into club ownership after purchasing a minority stake at UD Almeria, a Spanish second division club.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, now on the books at Saudi Pro League outfit Al Nassr, has shown little interest in becoming a coach or manager when he eventually retires from active professional football.
However, he apparently isn’t planning on abandoning the game entirely after his recent purchase of a 25% stake in UD Almeria to become a minority owner of the Andalusian club.
“It has been a longtime ambition of mine to contribute to football, beyond the pitch,” Ronaldo said, per quotes revealed by Sports Illustrated.
“UD Almería is a Spanish club with strong foundations and clear potential for growth. I look forward to working alongside the leadership team to support the club’s next phase of growth.”
Almeria was recently taken over by a Saudi-backed consortium fronted by Mohammed Al Khereiji. Reports from Sports Illustrated indicate that Ronaldo used his affiliation with the oil-rich nation to facilitate a buy-in.
The Spanish club came into existence in 1989 and made it to La Liga for the first time in 2007. Since then, they have fluctuated between the Spanish top and second division, last featuring in La Liga in the 2023/2024 season.
At the moment, they sit third in Spain’s second division and have just two points separating them from Racing Santander in first place.
This keeps them firmly in contention to secure promotion back to La Liga ahead of next season.
Meanwhile, all seems to be well again between Ronaldo and Al Nassr after the experienced forward’s brief strike over the club’s lacklustre attitude towards reinforcing the squad during the winter transfer window.
He has since returned to action for Al Nassr and has four goals in his last three outings to put the team two points clear at the summit of the Saudi Pro League table.
