After several months of negotiations and competing against other interested parties, Vinicius Jr. is now the owner of his first football team, FC Alverca, a club that plays in the second division of the Portuguese Football League. The Real Madrid winger thus joins the ranks of footballers such as Piqué who have bought a football team.
The figures for which Vinicius bought FC Alverca have not yet been disclosed. During the negotiations there was talk of a price of around 10 million euros, but these figures have not yet been made public by either the player’s representatives or the club’s current majority shareholder, Ricardo Vicintín.
The sports project promoted by Vinicius
Alverca, which is located in Alverca do Ribatejo, on the outskirts of Lisbon, has an important part in the history of Portuguese football. It has spent five seasons in the First Division, three of them in the early years of its history, and has participated in many more in the Second Division.
It is currently second in the league. Wanting to turn Alverca into a leading club for youth training, the Real Madrid striker wants to attract promising new talent from Portuguese and Brazilian football, while trying to generate synergies between his experience as an elite player and his way of managing the club. It is not just a question of making an investment of an economic nature, but also of carrying out a sports project. Vinicius Jr.’s desire is to restore Alverca to its rightful place among Portugal’s elite football clubs in the medium and long term, investing in infrastructure and prioritizing youth development.
Vinicius is both a footballer and an investor
Vinicius Jr.’s move is part of an increasingly widespread trend among elite players. Footballers such as Gerard Piqué, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Beckham have diversified their career paths by turning around and buying sports clubs. In Vinicius’s case, the idea is very clear: to optimise his impact on and off the ball.
This model of the footballer as investor allows players to plan for their future once they have finished their careers as players. This makes Vinicius a benchmark not only in terms of talent in the game, but also in his role as an entrepreneur.
Vinicius’ impact on Alverca and in the Portuguese Second Division
The arrival of Vinicius Jr. at FC Alverca has generated great expectations among the club’s fans and, by extension, for football in Portugal.
The Portuguese Second Division may be able to take advantage of the impact and the appeal that the arrival of the Real Madrid player may bring, as well as the investment in signings and infrastructure that accompany an improvement in the team’s competitiveness, which could flirt with promotion positions and, consequently, Alverca could become a strong candidate to return to the First Division, while helping to improve the club’s prestige, a prestige that has been well documented throughout its history.
Vinicius Jr.’s purchase of Alverca represents a new chapter in the development of the Brazilian footballer’s professional career and could mark a change of direction for the future of the Portuguese football club. In turn, the arrival of the Brazilian player could transform the context of the Portuguese Second Division and put Alverca on the European football map.