FOOTBALL superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has bought a 25% stake in Spanish club, UD Almeria.
The team are currently third in the La Liga second division table.
The 41-year-old Portuguese international footballer and ex-Real Madrid player revealed that the move had been made via CR7 Sports Investments, a new subsidiary of his CR7 SA company, through which he manages his businesses and investments.
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Cristiano Ronaldo said: “For a long time I have had the ambition to contribute to football beyond the pitch”
“UD Almeria is a Spanish club with a strong base and clear growth potential and I look forward to working with the team that supports the club in its new phase of growth,” he added.
The move strengthens Ronaldo’s links with Saudi Arabia where he plays for Al-Nassr.
Mohamed Al Khereiji’s Saudi-based SMC Group has the majority shareholding in UD Almeria, having bought it last year from boxing tycoon and Riyadh Season mastermind Turki Alalshikh.
Ronaldo’s statement offers no financial details about his ‘strategic investment’ but stressed that the move reflected the striker’s long-term commitment to the ownership of professional football teams and was an important milestone for him, as an entrepreneur and investor.
UD Almeria president Mohamed al Khereiji expressed his pleasure in the same statement that Ronaldo had chosen his club to invest in.
“He is considered to be the best on the field, he knows the Spanish leagues very well and understands the potential of what we are building here both in terms of the team and the academy,” Al Khereiji commented.
The move into Spanish football ownership follows Ronaldo’s $7.5m investment in Herbalife-linked tech company HBL Pro2col Software LLC in return for a 10% stake.
The 41-year-old also has investments in Perplexity AI, Bioniq and Whoop, while his CR7 operation includes hotels, fitness, fashion.
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