Real Madrid and Brazil star Vinicius Jr has followed teammate Kylian Mbappe into football club ownership by buying Portuguese second-tier side Alverca.
Vinicius is part of a consortium of Spanish and Brazilian investors who have acquired the team from previous owner Ricardo Vicintin in a deal reported to be worth €10m (£8.3m) – approximately equal to the 24-year-old’s annual salary.
Alverca, who are based in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, are currently second in Portugal’s Liga 2 and in line for automatic promotion to the top flight.
“FC Alverca – Futebol, SAD hereby announces that Ricardo Vicintin has sold his qualified stake in the public limited company to a group of Spanish and Brazilian investors,” the club said.
Vinicius is just the latest in a growing number of footballers to become club owners, as top players look to channel their vast earnings into post-playing careers.
How other footballers who own clubs have fared
Fellow Real Madrid forward Mbappe last year bought a majority stake in second-tier French club Caen, although the Normandy side have not prospered and sit bottom of Ligue 2.
Vinicius’s compatriot Ronaldo Nazario owns Spanish top-division team Real Valladolid, who also languish last in LaLiga and look set to be relegated.
David Beckham was among the early adopters, establishing Inter Miami after taking advantage of an option to create an expansion team secured when he moved to Major League Soccer.
Beckham still holds a minority stake in Inter Miami, who are now valued at over $1bn, despite only playing their first MLS match five years ago, thanks in part to signing Lionel Messi.
He is also a shareholder in Salford City along with fellow former Manchester United teammates Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a part-owner of Hammarby in his native Sweden, Gerard Pique’s investment group Kosmos bought FC Andorra, who play in Spain.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, has said that he wants to own stakes in several clubs when he finally ends his playing career.