The Real Madrid stars leading a growing wave of athlete ownership in global sports

Real Madrid has long operated as a global sporting machine that goes far beyond soccer alone.

That is reflected in its massive financial scale, with a budget this season of roughly $1.47 billion and recognition from Forbes as the most valuable club in the world.

Under that powerful influence, several of its biggest stars are stepping into a different kind of spotlight altogether. One that is paradoxical in nature. At a club without owners in the traditional sense, Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Jr., and Thibaut Courtois are themselves becoming owners or co-owners of professional sports teams. And just this week, Jude Bellingham joined them, investing in a professional cricket franchise.

A new generation of athlete-investors

The pace is accelerating. These are not retired athletes looking for their next chapter. Mbappé, Vinícius, Courtois, and Bellingham are all in their prime, entering the business world with carefully structured investment strategies already in place.

“Clubs are no longer purchased for emotional reasons. Investors are looking at future profitability and how much these assets can appreciate,” said a sports business expert consulted by AS.

“The soccer ecosystem is estimated to be operating at only about 40 percent of its growth potential.”

According to economists Luis Carlos Sánchez, Ángel Barajas, and Patricio Sánchez Fernández, whose research analyzed 61 soccer club acquisitions, “club valuation in these deals is driven by financial parameters, not subjective buyer preferences.” In other words, sentiment is secondary. Money leads the way.

Mbappé and the Caen project

Kylian Mbappé has tried to blend emotion and investment, even if only loosely.

In 2024, he initially explored buying a stake in AS Monaco but ran into obstacles and instead turned his attention to Caen, the club where he once trained as a child.

This was not symbolic. Through his holding company Interconnected Ventures, Mbappé purchased roughly 80 percent of the French club for an estimated $17.5 million to $23.5 million, according to French media reports, gaining near-total control.

He has not been a visible presence at the club. Instead, operations are run by his business associate Ziad Hammoud, a former senior executive at beIN Sports, while his mother and advisor, Fayza Lamari, also plays a key role.

The results have been poor so far.

Last season, amid a sporting crisis, Caen fans displayed a large banner reading, “Mbappé, Caen is not your toy.”

The team was relegated to the Championnat National, France’s third tier, and currently sits mid-table with no realistic promotion hopes this season.

Bellingham enters cricket ownership

Jude Bellingham’s move into sports ownership comes through cricket, a sport he played as a child in England.

He has invested in the Birmingham Phoenix, a franchise in The Hundred, England’s professional short-format cricket league.

“I felt like I owed something back to the city,” the Real Madrid star said during the official announcement.

Financially, his investment is relatively modest at about $1.2 million, giving him just under a 2 percent stake in the team, which also includes minority ownership from NFL legend Tom Brady.

The upside, however, is significant. The league is still in a growth phase, and projections suggest Bellingham could double the value of his investment within 10 years.

Courtois and Vinícius focus on returns

For Courtois and Vinícius Jr., the approach is more traditional investing.

The Belgian goalkeeper has joined French club Le Mans through his investment platform NxtPlay Capital, taking a minority stake alongside a high-profile group that includes Novak Djokovic and former Formula 1 drivers Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen.

If Le Mans earns promotion to Ligue 1, analysts suggest Courtois could triple or even quadruple his investment, currently estimated at around $1.2 million.

The club is pushing for promotion from Ligue 2, sitting in a strong position with two matches left in the season.

Vinícius Jr. is following a similar model, leading an investor group that recently acquired 80 percent of Portuguese club Alverca for about $11.75 million.

The strategy is both financial and strategic, aimed at increasing value while creating a pipeline for Brazilian talent into European soccer.

A growing trend among elite athletes

Together, these moves reflect a growing trend among global superstars who are balancing life on the pitch with influence in boardrooms.

The shift did not begin here.

Beckham changed the model

Even David Beckham, long considered a pioneer beyond just style and marketing, set a precedent for modern player ownership.

While still an active player, Beckham negotiated his move to LA Galaxy in 2007 in a deal that included the option to purchase an MLS expansion franchise for $25 million.

That decision eventually led to Inter Miami, a club now valued at roughly $1.35 billion.

As ESPN noted in a feature on Beckham, “he began thinking like an owner while still a player.”

His model helped pave the way for what is now unfolding with Mbappé, Vinícius Jr., Courtois, and Bellingham.

Other former and current Real Madrid-linked stars have followed similar routes.