Cristiano Ronaldo acquired a 25% stake in Spanish club Almeria, the Ballon d’Or winner announced Thursday, marking his latest venture as an investor in a club.
Ronaldo made the acquisition through his newly formed holding company, CR7 Sports Investments, and his portfolio includes a stake in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, a club he has played for since 2023. The majority of Almeria is still owned by Saudi consortium SMC Group led by Mohamed al-Khereiji, who took over the club in May of last year and currently serves as the president.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“It has been a long-time ambition of mine to contribute to football,” Ronaldo said in a statement from CR7 Sports Investments. “I look forward to working alongside the leadership team to support the club’s next phase of growth.”
Khereiji suggested in a statement issued by Almeria that Ronaldo would take interest in the club’s youth setup, while Rubi, coach of the second division team, said the Portugal international’s influence could be wider.
“From our perspective, we’re very happy,” he said. “Of course, we welcome him. I think it’s great news because someone like him, with his extensive knowledge of sport and football, can really help a club like ours. It’s very exciting for the whole club, the city, and the province. Everyone knows the good relationship Cristiano has with the owners. You find out things as they happen, but I don’t think it’s important when I found out or not. The important thing is that he’s arrived here to join us [as a shareholder]. We’re very happy.”
Almeria currently sit third in the Segunda Division, one point outside of the top two spots that guarantee automatic promotion to LaLiga but nestled securely inside the playoff spots for teams ranked third through sixth. The team last competed in Spain’s top flight during the 2023-24 season, when they finished 19th with just 21 points from 38 matches and were relegated.
The team’s best-ever LaLiga finish was eighth place, which came in the 2007-08 season as a newly-promoted side. Current Aston Villa coach Unai Emery was at the helm at the time and Alvaro Negredo, a future Euro winner with Spain and Premier League champion with Manchester City, was their leading goalscorer.
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