Former Players Who Own Clubs
Over the last couple of decades, football has grown significantly in various aspects, especially as a business, reaching many millions of dollars in revenue for some clubs. This has led to football players also earning large salaries, and after retirement, if they have managed their careers properly, they have enough money to make investments. How these investments look vary widely, although it is increasingly common for players to decide to invest again in football, specifically by purchasing shares or even becoming major shareholders in football clubs.Here we list 15 of former great players, in no particular order, that today are owners of football clubs, some more successful than others.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Hammarby IF
At the end of 2019, the Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided to buy shares in a football club in his home country, although surprisingly, he didn't buy a club from Malmö, his hometown where he played for several local teams. Instead, he bought shares in Hammarby, a major rival of Malmö FF, which was the team where Ibrahimovic made his professional debut for and had a statue of him outside their arena. This earned Zlatan some scorn from Malmö fans, and they even vandalized his statue because of this decision. The purchase of the Stockholm club was, in a way, indirect, as Ibrahimovic bought half the shares of AEG's Swedish subsidiary, a company that, in turn, owned a portion of Hammarby's shares. Thus, the Swedish striker became a co-owner of the club.Marcelo - CD Mafra and Azuriz FC
The former Real Madrid left-back created a football management company that includes club management and player representation. Through this company, Marcelo has become involved in the purchase of shares in football clubs, such as CD Mafra in 2021, a team that plays in Portugal's second tier, where he is a co-owner with a Danish investment group, and Azuriz FC, a Brazilian club he acquired in 2018 when it was being founded and which has progressively grown to now be in Serie D, the fourth tier of Brazilian football. Apparently, Marcelo's strategy is to continue investing and holding stakes in more clubs.Gheorghe Hagi, Ciprian Marica and Rivaldo - FCV Farul Constanța
Gheorghe Hagi, a great Romanian football legend (possibly the greatest), founded FC Viitorul Constanta in 2009 and became part of the Romanian football system by purchasing the Ovidiu stadium and entering the third tier. In 2017, they were crowned champions of the Romanian league for the first and only time in their history under this name, since in 2021, they would merge with Farul Constanta, which, curiously, was owned by Ciprian Marica, another former Romanian football player. Marica acquired the club in 2016 to save it from disappearance.Furthermore, in 2023, the good relationship between Hagi and Rivaldo led the 1999 Ballon d'Or winner to buy 10% of the club and also become involved in the project. Added to this is the appointment of Gheorghe Popescu, another Romanian football legend, as club president, and Hagi himself is the manager. To round off the Farul trivia, Rivaldo's son, Rivaldinho, played for the team for a couple of seasons, between 2023 and 2025.
Mohamed Kallon - FC Kallon
Another legend from his home country, in this case Sierra Leone, is also the owner of a football club. In 2002, Mohamed Kallon bought Sierra Fisheries for "only" $30,000. This club, which had been around for a couple of decades, he re-founded it, calling it FC Kallon. At the time, the player was still active and, in fact, perhaps at his peak, playing for Inter Milan. In 2009, he decided to return to his home country to play for FC Kallon for a year, although he would later return for a second two-season stint, where he would finally end his professional career in 2014.
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Patrice Evra - Estrela da Amadora
The Portuguese club Estrela da Amadora was originally founded in 1932 but went bankrupt in 2011 and disappeared for a time until the name was used in 2020 to return the club to the Portuguese professional football system. In 2023, Evra, along with an investment fund, bought a majority stake in the club, which, according to the former French player himself, was valued at 5 million euro. Thanks to the club's rapid growth, which led to promotion to the Primeira Liga, the investment led to an eight-fold increase in value, according to Evra.Paolo Maldini - Miami FC
Before Inter Miami's appearance in the MLS, there was a previous attempt by the city to have a club in the country's top soccer league. In 2015, despite the fact that Beckham and his group of partners' intention to have a club in Miami was already known, Maldini, along with his compatriot, businessman Riccardo Silva, founded the club Miami FC. Ultimately, things didn't go as planned, and the club failed to secure a spot in the MLS, although they did secure a spot in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the country's second-tier league, now known as the USL Championship.
David Beckham - Inter Miami
Here we come to possibly the most well-known case of former football players who are owners or shareholders of a football club: that of David Beckham and Inter Miami. When the Englishman signed his contract with the MLS in 2007 to play for the LA Galaxy, he included a clause that allowed him to own a club in the league for $25 million in the future, provided he met the conditions required of the rest. In 2014, Beckham, along with an investment group, made a proposal to the MLS to create the club, which was accepted, something that also partially affected Miami FC. Finally, the project would be officially presented in 2018 and in 2020 would participate in the MLS for the first time. And in 2023, he would sign Lionel Messi, with whom the club would achieve worldwide fame and who would also serve to bring in other players such as Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba or Sergio Busquets.David Beckham and Gary Neville - Salford City
Beckham is not only the owner of an American club, but the Englishman also owns another club with his former teammate, Gary Neville. In 2014, the famous Class of 92 (Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes) joined forces with Peter Lim to buy the Manchester club, which at the time was in Division One North (seventh tier). Over the years, Beckham and Gary Neville acquired the shares of the other investors, until in 2024, they became the sole owners of the club, which is now in the EFL League Two (fourth tier).Ronaldo - Real Valladolid
After his retirement from football, the Brazilian legend has been somewhat removed from the world of football, at least in the more common roles as a manager or agent. However, at the start of the 2018-19 season, he became the Spanish club Real Valladolid's largest shareholder by purchasing 51% of the club's shares for around 30 million euro. The initial stage of Ronaldo's time with Valladolid suggested that a good era was beginning for the Spanish club; the reality has been that his management has not been good at all, accumulating two relegations to date. After being relegated from La Liga season 2024/2025 fans protest wildly and reports now say that Ronaldo is ready to sell his shares in the club.In 2021, the Brazilian also bought Brazilian Cruzeiro, the club with which he began his professional career, although he later sold his share of the shares in 2024.
Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas - Como 1907
In 2019, when Como 1907 won the Serie D (fourth tier) and achieved promotion to Serie C (third tier), the investment group Djarum took ownership of the club. The idea was not only to invest but to involve important former players in the project, and so they brought on Dennis Wise as CEO, and then in 2022, Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry would join as minority shareholders. In the case of the Spaniard, he became a Como player in what would be his last season as a professional football player and would later become the manager, first on an interim basis and nowadays the official manager.Gerard Piqué - FC Andorra
FC Andorra is the most important in its country and has participated in the Spanish football system since the 1960s. In December 2018, Gerard Piqué bought the club through his company, Kosmos Holding Group, and they quickly achieved promotion to the Tercera Division (fourth tier of Spanish football). In 2019, they paid 450,000 euro to buy Reus Deportivo's place in the Segunda Division B (third tier), as the club had been administratively relegated due to non-payments.
Didier Drogba - Phoenix Rising
At the end of his career, the Ivorian Didier Drogba moved to Phoenix Rising in the USL, which wasn't all that surprising. However, the news came with the addition of the former Chelsea striker joining a large group of investors who owned shares in the club, which included former baseball player Brandon McCarthy and music producer and DJ Diplo. In this way, Drogba became the first player-owner of a football club, at least at a relatively high level.Maxi Lopez - FC Paradiso
The former River Plate and FC Barcelona striker bought around 40% of the shares of FC Paradiso in 2025, a club in the Swiss Promotion League, the third tier in that country. Since his retirement in 2021, Maxi Lopez has been strengthening his entrepreneurial side, and in fact, the Swiss club was not his first attempt at buying a football club. In 2022, he came very close to closing the deal for Birmingham City, which was in the Championship at the time. Ultimately, the attempt was unsuccessful, although he was later able to acquire FC Paradiso.
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Keisuke Honda - SV Horn
The Japanese globetrotter Keisuke Honda has covered several roles in football as a player, manager, and owner, having acquired SV Horn, a team in the Regionalliga Ost, the third tier of Austrian football, for 3 million euro in 2015. Honda made the purchase through his company, Honda ESTILO, which is managed by his two brothers and through which he acquired a 49% stake in the Austrian club.Tim Howard - Memphis 901 and Dagenham & Redbridge FC
In 2018, the old goalkeeper Tim Howard decided to purchase shares in Dagenham & Redbridge of the National League in England and shortly after also became a shareholder and founder of the Tennessee-based football club, Memphis 901 FC. In addition to being a shareholder, Howard also became part of the club's administration, maintaining a role related to management, helping the club's development. The club, which plays in the USL Championship, played its first professional season in 2019 and at the end of that season, Howard was named as the club's sporting director.In 2020, he would take his involvement with Memphis 901 to a new level as he came out of retirement to once again put on the gloves and be part of the squad, while also combining his duties as sporting director. His stint as the club's goalkeeper lasted just one season and resulted in six appearances. In 2024, he would also step down from his position as sporting director, separating himself from the club at a sporting level, although he remains a minority shareholder.