Can Martin Braithwaite afford to buy his former club Espanyol out of revenge?

On the day Espanyol completed promotion to La Liga, some signs of the bad relationship between Braithwaite and the board could be seen. In the middle of the celebrations, Braithwaite stated that the club offered him a renewal a year ago, but that it was disrespectful. ‘’Let’s see if they want me to stay here because the offer I received a year ago shows that they don’t trust me.’’ 

Last year, Braithwaite was also unhappy as the current owners of Espanyol did not let him leave for a club in the first division after their relegation to the second tier, which ultimately cost him a place in Denmark’s team for the European Championships. 

One of the world’s richest footballers 

Now that Braithwaite and Espanyol failed to reach an agreement over a contract renewal, the former striker of FC Barcelona is plotting his ultimate revenge by becoming the new owner of the club. But can Braithwaite afford to buy a football club as big as RCD Espanyol? Well, Braithwaite is one of the richest footballers in the world. Not necessarily because of the salary he has received by playing football, but rather for investing in NYCE Companies, a real estate business in the USA. 

Together with his uncle, Braithwaite invested more than €700,000 in NYCE Companies in 2017. By the end of 2021, the company had grown to 25 times its size. Braithwaite owns more than 1,500 apartments and also owns new development projects in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Jersey City and San Antonio. The footballer specifically invests in affordable housing projects in historically black neighbourhoods. His real estate worth is now estimated to be worth over €250 million. 

In an interview with the Danish news outlet B.T., Braithwaite’s uncle said that their family has been in the real estate business for a long time. ‘’Here, you will find that one of the ways you can build a fortune and secure your future financially is by investing in real estate. And that’s what I’ve been doing with my dad and Martin since I came over here. Martin’s role is very much about how we do in terms of strategy and vision in the long run. He is involved, but not so involved that it distracts him from football.’’ 

Braithwaite and his partner Anne-Laure Louis also opened up a restaurant in Gavà, Barcelona, in 2021 and runs a clothing brand called Trente, which has not released new drops in about four years.