You’ll be shocked what this ex-Birmingham City and Aston Villa star is up to now | OneFootball

Former Brentford, Birmingham City and Aston Villa attacking midfielder Jota is on the verge of becoming a billionaire.

Back in the mid-to-late-2010s, Galician attacking midfielder Jota had become one of the best players in the EFL with spells at Brentford and Birmingham City before moving to Aston Villa in the Premier League – who is now on track to become a billionaire.

A creative player with a technical ability perhaps a level above the Championship, the Celta Vigo academy graduate took the Championship by storm at Brentford, after an impressive stint at Eibar.

He eventually went on to sign for Birmingham in the summer of 2017 for a fee believed to be in the region of £6 million before two years later moving on to Blues’ arch-rivals Villa, following their play-off final victory over Derby County.

Jota managed just ten appearances in the Premier League for the Villains before a move back to Spain, joining Basque side Deportivo Alaves for the 2020/21 season – where he finished his career at the age of 29.

Now, a few years on, the one-time Real Madrid Castilla loanee is making his way in the world of business.

Jota on course to become a billionaire

The 33-year-old, who played one game for the Galicia in a friendly against Venezuela back in 2016, retired from football to invest in an agricultural technology company.

He is the founder and CEO of a company called Groinn, which he heavily invested in upon his retirement from football.

The company began as Ramalloc Innovation but required heavy investment to scale itself up to what it is now becoming today.

Eventually, having been urged by friends within the industry, Jota integrated Ramalloc Innovation into Groinn, which is now said to be worth more than half a billion dollars already.

The firm’s technology has been deployed in both Spain and Belgium, as well as the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, using a solar-power smart device to capture data from sensors that are within the earth to give farmers a better understanding and further information with regards to soil quality and potential weather conditions.

The company has been projected to yield £3 billion by the end of 2026.

Jota’s stellar EFL career before frustrating time at Villa

Having joined Brentford in the summer of 2014, Jota went on to score 11 goals in 42 Championship appearances for the Bees in his debut season in England.

His second season began with an ankle ligament injury that prevented him from picking up from where he left off, and he eventually moved back to Eibar on an 18-month loan deal in January 2016 that was terminated by Brentford in January 2016.

Upon his return to west London, he went on to score 12 goals in 21 second-tier appearances for the club before his eventual move to Birmingham, joining Harry Redknapp’s side.

Whilst with the Blues, he established himself as a key man but didn’t hit the same scoring heights, albeit his form was enough to earn him a reunion with Dean Smith at Villa in the top-flight of English football.

Jota showed glimpses of being able to dominate the Championship and even show Premier League quality but his business career is certainly outshining what wasn’t a bad footballing career.