Juan Mata has followed David Beckham in becoming the owner of an MLS team, after he announced that he was joining the investment group of San Diego FC. The former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder, who now plays for Western Sydney Wanderers in the Australian A League, is the first active player to become a partner in a US franchise. San Diego will be part of the Western Conference from 2025.
The award of an expansion slot was announced in May 2023, with San Diego chosen ahead of Las Vegas, whose bid was backed by the owners of Aston Villa. The 2025 launch came too late for Mata to be involved as a player, with the Spanish midfielder, who had been released by Vissel Kobe in January, eventually joining Sydney as a free agent in September. Now he has become a part owner with a small shareholding while he continues as a professional, unlike David Beckham, whose ownership of Inter Miami had been written into his contract with MLS when he joined LA Galaxy, but was not announced until he had retired.
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San Diego are owned by the British-Egyptian billionaire and former Conservative Party donor and treasurer Mohamed Mansour and by a Californian Native American tribe, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. They paid a reported $500m (£395m) for the expansion slot.
Mansour, who served as a transport minister in the Hosni Mubarak government, was given a knighthood by Rishi Sunak in March having previously donated £5m to the Tory party. In 2021, the Mansour Group bought the Right to Dream football academy in a $120m takeover, which is where the relationship with Mata originates. Right to Dream, founded in Accra in 1999 by the former Manchester United scout Tom Vernon, had been one of the organisations that became part of Mata’s Common Goal charity. Vernon is a founding partner of San Diego.
Right to Dream, a non-profit organisation, also owns FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark and FC Masar in Egypt.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Mata said: “Joining San Diego FC as a partner is an exciting opportunity to help build something truly special in a city and league that are experiencing incredible growth. The commitment of both this Club and Right to Dream to community impact, excellence, and a vision for long-term success aligns perfectly with my own values. I look forward to contributing my experience and passion for the game and working alongside everyone here to build a Club that inspires both on and off the pitch.”
