I was rejected by Aston Villa, now at 32 I’m running a business set to make £1bn in profits – we are like the iPhone

JOTA swapped his football boots for the boardroom after becoming disillusioned with the beautiful game.

Now he’s on course to be a billionaire.

Once a supremely elegant playmaker at Brentford and Birmingham, the Spaniard lost his enthusiasm after moving to Aston Villa to play in the Premier League.

Having previously felt free to act upon instinct as a No10, he suddenly felt that the game had moved on – that it had become more about athleticism than god-given talent.

Jota controversially moved directly from Birmingham to Villa in 2019, but would make only 16 appearances before having his contract terminated in October 2020.

The following day he signed for Deportivo Alaves, but at the end of that campaign he snubbed a three-year deal to stay, eventually retiring aged 31 instead.

Many footballers have initially struggled immediately after retiring.

Some go into coaching, others may try the punditry route.

Jota, however, took an unusual step into digital agricultural aid with his company Groinn… and it’s fair to say things have gone remarkably well.

“I like taking risks and there were nervous times during the process,” he recently told The Athletic.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

“Once you develop the technology and it works, you will have spent millions but will get a lot more back. But if it doesn’t work, you lose all your money.”

Groinn harnesses technology to assist farmers with all matter of day-to-day tasks – from when to water plants to helping to cope with the effects of climate change.

Prior to Jota’s company, similar machines would cost farmers an eye-watering £25,700.

With Groinn, they can be purchased for a very affordable £175.

“I feel extremely proud because I know a lot of people were saying to me, ‘This is crazy’. Now, these people are saying, ‘Oh my word, this is making huge money’,” Jota enthuses.

“The value of the company is now worth 10 times more than the money I invested. I am already taking offers, but I know they won’t even be one per cent of its value in three years.

“We are in negotiations with a lot of governments around the world because they want the technology and we are industry leaders.

“We are talking to big companies in America and we are moving quicker than we thought.”

Around 150,000 are claimed to have used Groinn’s technology inside their first year of trading.

And with planned expansion across Europe, the US and Asia, that number is set to skyrocket.

In year three they are projected to be worth a staggering £3bn, with Jota and other shareholders expected to pocket around 25 per cent.

The former Premier League star, who is married to model Jessica Bueno, adds: “We are like the iPhone.

“Before that, you had letters, fax machines and telephones, but the iPhone puts it all into one and doesn’t cost too much and will be better quality.

“We did the same in agriculture with all technology on one machine.”

Jota expects to soon make £1bn in profits from Groinn… and is “working 24/7” in order to make his goals a reality.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk