The Flop Who Became a Tycoon: How Barcelona’s Maligned Player’s Investment Changed His Life

Danish striker Martin Braithwaite, considered one of Barcelona’s biggest failures, might become the owner of Espanyol. The striker, who currently plays for Brazilian club Gremio, amassed his fortune not from football but from a successful real estate investment.

Braithwaite, who signed with Espanyol on July 1, 2022, after an unsuccessful spell at Barcelona, has become one of football’s wealthiest businessmen in recent years. In fact, since Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona in summer 2021, the Dane has been the richest player to have played for the Catalan club. Today, his worth is estimated at 310 million dollars.

Despite earning only 77,000 euros per week at Barcelona, Braithwaite’s wealth comes from elsewhere: in 2017, while playing for Middlesbrough in the Championship, the Dane invested 850,000 dollars in his uncle Philip Michael’s real estate company. The company, then valued at 10 million dollars, grew impressively and its assets are now estimated at over 300 million dollars.

Now, Braithwaite is interested in acquiring Espanyol from Chinese owner Chen Yansheng. Yansheng, owner of RASTAR GROUP which deals in toys and video games, purchased 56% of the club’s shares in 2016 for 17.76 million euros. Despite investing more than 167 million dollars, the club failed to establish itself in the first division. The Chinese owner’s lack of interest in the club was reflected in the limited investment of only 400,000 euros last summer.

Braithwaite, who left Espanyol as a player after two seasons, described the club’s renewal offer as “embarrassing,” but hinted at a future return saying “see you soon.” The striker’s associates confirmed that preliminary discussions have begun between him and the Chinese owner. It’s worth noting that Espanyol’s last title was in the 2005/06 season when the team won the Spanish King’s Cup.