Keko Martínez is a former professional footballer and the president and founder of Ariete Sport & Entertainment, the firm that since 2009 has been advising elite athletes on managing their wealth and life, both during their careers and after them. He played in the Second Division while pursuing a degree in Business Administration, a master’s degree in Financial Markets at Pompeu Fabra, and the European Financial Planner certification. Today, Ariete accompanies more than 200 elite athletes with a combined wealth planning exceeding 500 million euros.
In this edition of The Pundit’s Seat, Keko Martínez talks about how a six-month retirement at age 24 completely changed his way of understanding football and life, the birth of Ariete in the midst of the 2009 financial crisis, why personal purpose must be placed above money, and how he views the wave of athletes who today invest in clubs, franchises, and technology platforms.
At 24 years old, you decided to retire from football for the first time. Six months later you returned, but something had changed. What changed at that moment, and what did you start doing differently from then on?
A: At 24 years old, football and I decided to part ways, as I like to say. For six months I was off the pitch; I didn’t know if I would return or not. It was a key period that made me evolve completely as a person. I had to face a future full of uncertainty, without money, without savings, without studies, and without work experience. But it helped me understand something that has accompanied me all my life: it is not enough to just be there; you have to give your maximum in every project or job you do. And I hadn’t done that until that day. Six months later I returned. I did so as a better version of myself, with a clearer vision of what I should be in life and, therefore, in my passion and profession, which was football. From then on, I stopped worrying about the result and started focusing on the process and, above all, on giving my maximum under a well-defined plan.
At what moment did all those pieces start fitting together and take the shape of Ariete? Was there a specific trigger?
A: There wasn’t a specific day when everything fit together or when I decided to create Ariete. It was a natural, progressive process. For years, I informally advised locker room teammates and friends from football in an altruistic way. At the same time, I saw how sporting success often did not also transform into economic and, above all, vital success. Ariete was born in 2009, but I had known for some time that my mission was to advise my teammates so that the day after retirement they could achieve their dreams and goals with their own custom-tailored model.
What were those first conversations like with the players you offered to advise? What were the main challenges you faced?
A: You have to place yourself in 2009-2010, when the great global financial crisis erupted, a period that would drag on for several years and in which the system was on the verge of collapsing. Economic indicators were going from bad to worse, many people felt fear, and elite athletes are no different in that regard. There were many unanswered questions and a lot of misinformation, so it was an ideal time to contribute our point of view and apply a model based on the person and not just the numbers.
The main challenge was explaining our way of understanding wealth. Although I must admit it was simpler than it might seem, because they themselves were demanding a type of advice that the system was not offering them. Our best weapon has always been the specialisation of our own method, our experience in both the wealth management and sporting worlds, and, above all, our absolute commitment to our clients’ goals. We like to call ourselves advisers because we go beyond recommendations; we get involved so that they can achieve the best possible family life situation.
How many footballers and former footballers do you currently work with? Would you say players’ mindsets have changed since then?
A: At Ariete, we currently accompany more than 200 elite athletes and some artists, with a global planning that exceeds 500 million euros in wealth.
The mindset, compared to my time, has changed a lot. Today, athletes are more concerned about their present, but, above all, about their future. Each person has their own personality and their own biases when making decisions. There is much more information than before, but also much more noise. That is one of our great goals: to help them filter out that noise so they can focus on their career with the peace of mind of knowing that they are building a solid life plan, aligned with their goals and with the life they want to have when they leave elite sports.
Football moves more money than ever, and both the sport and the industry are more professionalised than ever, but we still hear stories of footballers who, once retired, suffer economic, mental, or personal problems. Why? What have we improved on, and what challenges still remain?
A: The professionalisation, growth, and resilience that the industry is demonstrating mark a change of era. And, as in any process of evolution, there are always areas for improvement. Personally, I believe that society has an important challenge in financial education. We live in a capitalist system, but we do not receive basic training in economics and personal finance. And this also affects elite athletes, with special circumstances that amplify it. For this reason, the industry and all the actors that are part of it must place more focus on caring for the main protagonist: the player. Much progress is being made, but there is still a way to go, something we have seen during these nearly 20 years of accompanying athletes.
There is much talk about the role of the inner circle: clubs, family, agents, friends, various opportunists. Is it a cliché or a real problem? How does Ariete manage relationships with that ecosystem?
A: The family and the circle of athletes are, in many cases, one of the main reasons why they have reached the elite level. They have been by their side, supported them, and, on many occasions, helped them make good decisions. Another thing is that we can all fall prey to the approach of interested individuals, but that has always happened and will continue to happen. Time puts everyone in their place. The important thing is that it happens as soon as possible and, above all, without generating any problems.
Our role at Ariete is to integrate into that group formed by the footballer and their trusted circle, contributing our value and method through loyal and clear advice. In the end, we have travelled the path they are walking many years before them, and we can offer them advice in a wide variety of areas.
In your years advising elite athletes, what is the phrase or situation that has been repeated the most? And what has been the most extraordinary?
A: It would be unfair to say that all cases are similar. Each person was born in a different environment, has different personal circumstances or dependents, and is not always going through the same stage of life. Perhaps what we hear most often is: How will my life be when I retire? Will I maintain my family’s standard of living? What professional path can I take? And, without a doubt, the most extraordinary phrase and the one that brings us the most pride is hearing: “I wish I had met you earlier” or “joining Ariete was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.” That is what truly gives meaning to everything we do.
Your methodology places personal purpose above economic purpose. How do you help footballers find that personal purpose beyond football? How does one remain faithful to that purpose in an industry where everything is measured in money?
A: I help each player ask themselves a very simple question: What life do I want to have when my career ends? Hardly anyone asks themselves this while active, because everything moves fast, and it seems like income and success will last forever. At Ariete, we don’t express an opinion on what their purpose should be, but we do help them put that future on the table before it arrives, so that when that day comes, they already have a planned answer.
On his participation in WFS Madrid
At World Football Summit, all actors of the industry converge: players and former players, club and federation executives, agents and representatives, investors, media. If you could send a message to each of those parties, what would it be?
A: In an event like World Football Summit, where all the industry actors coexist, the message for each party would be different in form, but very similar in substance. Football today is a very powerful ecosystem where everything is connected: what a player decides, what a club promotes, what an agent interprets, or what a media outlet reports has an impact on the rest. Therefore, rather than separate messages, the important thing is that we all understand that we are building the same industry from different places. If I had to sum it up in one sentence, it would be this: the world is changing; the industry has to adapt. What we do today will be the results of tomorrow. And that doesn’t depend only on the player; it depends on the clubs, the agents, the media, and the investors. Ultimately, without any doubt, the two pillars we must take care of are the players and coaches, and the fans. Without them, there is no show. If we all push in that direction, football will be a healthier industry, on and off the pitch.
What do you want to put on the table in your talk at World Football Summit?
A: I want to dismantle some of the narratives we have been repeating for years about footballers’ retirement, and raise a deeper reflection on what happens when a career ends. I am not here to point fingers: I have been working with this industry for seventeen years, and I have not found anyone who wants this to happen. The problem lies elsewhere, and the responsibility is shared between clubs, agents, media and investors. If we talk about assets, we should do so properly: the footballer is the most important asset that exists in football. He generates everything and yet he is the only one we look after only while he performs. I prefer to call him a person. Around a footballer there is a performance plan, a medical plan, an image plan and a tax plan. One is missing. His own.
What do you think Ariete’s vision and work can contribute to World Football Summit?
A: The work and emergence of WFS seem to me to be a very valuable contribution to the industry, as a meeting point for ideas, debate, and collaboration among the different actors in the sector. It was necessary to have a space where we could analyse the present and build the future of football.
From our experience, we can contribute a view from inside the industry and from different perspectives, which allows us to have a broad look at the football ecosystem. First as a professional footballer and later as a firm that accompanies elite athletes, we have accumulated 40 years of experience that has allowed us to identify learnings and areas for improvement that we believe are important to continue evolving as an industry.