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Discover the footballers who have recently purchased stakes in football clubs to become either majority or minority owners.
Football players have in recent years ventured into club ownership with many of them buying either majority or minority stakes in various sides.
This is part of a strategy to position themselves for a life after football as they put in their money with the hope of a return on investment.
Pulse Sports details the footballers who have recently joined the list of club owners.
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7 Footballers Who Recently Became Club Owners: Which Africans Make the List?
Cesc Fabregas
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Former Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas is currently the coach of Serie A club Como but he also has a stake in the side.
Fabregas joined Como in 2022 on a two-year playing contract but part of the deal included the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder buying a stake in the club which was then in the Italian second tier Serie B.
Fabregas and his partners managed to fund the team and lift it to the top flight with the ex-midfielder hanging up his boots to work as the coach and he has done well, promoting them and then ensuring they remain in the top flight, as they have not been in a relegation battle.
N’Golo Kante
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French midfielder N'Golo Kante became the new owner of Belgian third-tier side Royal Excelsior Virton in June 2023, just weeks before his multi-million move from Chelsea to Saudi club Al-Ittihad.
Kante and bis associates agreed terms to take control of Royal Excelsior Virton, who had just been relegated to the third tier of Belgian football.
Wilfried Zaha
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Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Zaha purchased non-league club AFC Croydon Athletic in July 2023.
The former Crystal Palace winger, alongside British rapper Stormzy and ex- Palace head of player care Danny Young, were part of a three-man consortium that bought the South London-based club that competes in the ninth tier of English football.
Sadio Mane
Senegal legend Sadio Mane completed the takeover of French fourth tier club Bourges Foot-18 in October 2023.
Mane, who had been offering financial support to the team, was convinced to buy the club due to his strong relationship with its president Cheikh Sylla and he appointed former Senegal team-mate Lamine Sane as assistant manager.
Kylian Mbappe
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Real Madrid forward Klyian Mbappe became the youngest football club owner when he bought French second division side Caen in July 2024 while aged 25.
Mbappe bought a majority stake in the club through his firm Interconnected Ventures, putting in a reported 15 million euros of his own money, to replace the former majority owner Oaktree, an American investment fund.
Juan Mata
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Former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata joined the ownership group of MLS expansion side San Diego FC in November 2024.
Mata’s share in the club was not made public but he put in a multi-million investment that he hopes will yield dividends for the club that has joined the MLS in the 2025 season.
The Spanish playmaker, who now plays in Australia with Western Sydney Wanderers, became the first active international soccer player to hold an ownership stake in Major League Soccer.
Luka Modric
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Real Madrid legend Luka Modric became the latest club owner when he bought a stake in English Championship club Swansea City in April 2025.
The amount put in by Modric has not been revealed but he joined an ownership group that includes American investors Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, Nigel Morris and Jason Cohen, hoping to return the Welsh club back to the Premier League.
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