Ex-Villa star retired early and now claims new business could make £1bn profits

The former Aston Villa, Birmingham and Brentford man retired in 2021 aged just 31, and isn't struggling for motivation.

While many players are left in the wilderness after hanging up their boots, the Spaniard, whose full name is Jose Ignacio Peleteiro Ramallo, has found an incredible second wind.

Investing in an agricultural technology company, Jota believes it could be the iPhone of farming.

"We are like the iPhone," he told The Athletic. "Before that, you had letters, fax machines and telephones, but the iPhone puts it all into one and doesn't cost too much and will be better quality. We did the same in agriculture with all technology on one machine.

"I knew when I left football, I had something really big on my hands. We're not talking about opening up a restaurant — I've invested so much money into this.

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"The value of the company has projections that show this will be the world's biggest agriculture company in three years.

"Our profit projections will be so big, no matter how much money someone offers me [for my stake], it will not be enough.

"Our projections say we will make £1billion profit. Imagine how much money it will make in a year. It's crazy. I am working 24/7 to do that.

"We have had ups and downs because we are investing so much money into something new that you don't know will work.

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"I feel extremely proud because I know a lot of people were saying to me, 'This is crazy'. Now, these people are saying, 'Oh my word, this is making huge money'."

Before retiring, Jota was a star in the Championship with Brentford and Birmingham, and long pencilled in for a move to the top flight.

In 2019 he did that by swapping the Blues for city rivals Villa, but it didn't work out at all, with just 16 appearances in 18 months.

He then returned to Spain with Alaves, but the flair no.10 explained how tactics had made him obsolete and playing in a sport he no longer enjoyed.

"I was young and a lot of people tried to convince me not to retire," he recalled.

"I was playing a lot at Alaves, but the modern game has become more about systems and being athletic.

"I was a playmaker and a No 10, but you don't see that anymore — Juan Roman Riquelme wouldn't start [today] because stats and data are all based on how much you run rather than your technical talent, which is God's gift. Players don't get the freedom, it's just a tactical game and everyone is machine-like.

"That was when I started losing motivation. A couple of years before, I was free to do what I wanted with the ball. Now every manager wants to play the same and training is about individual running. The No 10 has disappeared. There isn't a player like Riquelme anymore — he would not play today."

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"Football should make personalities stand out. I was doing what the manager said, but I didn't enjoy it.

"It was a difficult decision because I was saying no to so much money, but I had loved football so much it was never about the money. I lost my motivation, but I had another big project on my mind."