Off the field, Real Madrid and Spain footballer Sergio Ramos has a growing business empire, having investing in a varied portfolio of projects.
Life isn't going badly at all for Sergio Ramos. Arguably never better, indeed.
In addition to boasting an illustrious football career in which he has established himself as the leader of LaLiga giants Real Madrid - pocketing 11.7 million euros a season at the Bernabéu - he is this summer due to marry Pilar Rubio, his partner of seven years and the mother of his children, in a wedding which has sparked frenzied anticipation since the announcement of their engagement.
And on top of all that, there's the rude health of the defender's wide-ranging business portfolio. The 32-year-old - who has joined forces with Amazon to star in an eight-part docuseries set for release this year - has managed to build an impressive network of investments, with assets that in 2018 were valued at around 100 million euros. Over the years, Ramos' incursions into the world of business have steadily increased to the point where he is now a presence in a variety of sectors.
Property
Since the founding of his parent company Sermos 32 SL in 2004, Ramos has consolidated his influence in the property sector through several subsidiaries: the firm Gestora Mediterránea de Infraestructuras has built a major underground car park in Marbella, while Fomento del Ahorro Familiar Altozano Servicios manages 19 million euros' worth of assets in both residential and industrial real estate.
Meanwhile, he has in recent months also been developing perhaps his most ambitious project yet together with his father, José María. Through the company Desarrollos Inmobiliarios Los Berrocales SA, which is managed by Ramos Sr, the pair have invested more than 60 million euros in an urban planning project whose aim is to construct tens of thousands of homes in the south of Madrid.
Horses
Not all the Spain international's investments are in property, however. Courtesy of Albis Inversiones, which has assets amounting to 10 million euros in the livestock, forestry and fishing sectors, Ramos follows what is seen as one of his chief passions: the breeding of Spanish thoroughbred horses. The Andalusian's devotion to the horses at his 44-hectare estate at Bollullos de la Mitación. Located just outside Seville, it houses around 70 racing horses, one of whom - Yucatán - has brought Ramos plenty of cause for celebration, most recently winning the 2018 SICAB World Championship.
Art
A perhaps less well-known passion in which Ramos invests is art. In his most recent appearance on the prime-time Spanish TV chat show 'El Hormiguero' ('The Ant Hill'),he revealed to the programme's presenter, Pablo Motos - who he presented with a bronze sculpture of a giant ant - that he and Rubio have established a number of links with the sector in recent years, "because there's no better way to invest than in art and culture". Indeed, Ramos noted that, thanks to the capable advisers that he has surrounded himself with, he has managed to "make the odd splash" in the market...