World Cup winner Juan Mata buys into MLS team

There is no shortage of Celebrity owners in MLS. The likes of David Beckham (Inter Miami), Matthew McConaughey (Austin FC), Will Ferrell (LAFC) and James Harden (Houston Dynamo) all own a stake in teams.

Next year San Diego FC will join as the league’s 30th club and they’ve got a famous face of their own involved.

On Wednesday former Premier League star Juan Mata announced that he is joining the San Diego ownership group ahead of their debut season. On social media he wrote: “I see this step as an opportunity to help build something really special in a city and a league that are experiencing incredible growth”.

Juan Mata came through Real Madrid’s Castilla academy system before moving to LaLiga side Valencia. After impressing in Spain - winning the 2010 World Cup with the national team - Mata moved to Chelsea in 2011. He played for Chelsea for three years before moving to rivals Manchester United.

After more than a decade in the Premier League he has spent the latter years of his career with Galatasaray, Vissel Kobe and, currently, Western Sydney Wanderers.

Still only 36 years old, Juan Mata is the first active soccer player to become an owner of an MLS team. The deal to buy in to San Diego is aligned with his work with the Right to Dream soccer academy.

In 2021 the Right to Dream academy was bought in a $120 million takeover by the Mansour Group, which is led by fellow San Diego owner Mohamed Mansour. The consortium of Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation paid a $500 million expansion fee to bring the league’s 30th team to San Diego.

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