Real Sociedad Star David Silva Looks Well Beyond Soccer As His Business Portfolio Expands

With investments in his country’s real estate, tourism and wine sectors, 37-year-old Spanish soccer wizard David Silva has long kept a close eye on life after playing, and that now seems set to pay dividends.

A report in Diario AS earlier this week noted the Real Sociedad player’s Bodegas Tamerán wine company—founded in 2019 and with land spanning nearly a million square meters in his native Canary Islands—produced over 100,000 bottles in its opening two harvests, a number predicted to rise this year (Spanish).

As its stock sells in the United States, England, Germany, Portugal and mainland Spain—with bottles supposedly costing up to €170 ($188) in higher-end restaurants—all roads point towards a promising venture and a ready occupation once his time as a professional draws to a close.

Like many Spanish dynamos, Silva, the businessman, has stuck to his roots. For instance, fellow international Andrés Iniesta also has vineyards in his hometown Fuentealbilla in Castilla La Mancha, and another proud Canary Islander, 20-year-old Barcelona midfielder Pedri, may well track back to his beginnings later in his career.

It’s perhaps blunt to say such ventures fall into Silva and other players’ laps. However, Spain’s geography, with its warm agricultural areas, lends itself to winemaking and allows certain Spanish stars, with money and a supportive entourage, to break into these home-based industries quite easily.

And judging by Silva’s movements, simultaneously capitalizing on the Canary Islands’ real estate business—a burgeoning market in 2022, according to some reports like this one from the New York Times—he’s diversifying his interests far beyond his craft and noticing potential in other fields.

It makes perfect sense for names like Silva to branch out. Professional soccer is a lucrative but short career. Equally, stars playing less frequently or outside the most prolific teams are less likely buoyed by sponsorships and endorsements, leaving scope to seek opportunities and money elsewhere.

Since bursting onto the scene at Valencia almost 20 years back, Silva has collected a World Cup and two European Championship medals with Spain while enjoying his best club moments at Manchester City, where his artistry in the attacking midfield role helped the Premier League side win four domestic league titles and two FA Cups.

With his current team, he’s played a less central role, with Real Sociedad head coach Imanol Alguacil carefully managing his minutes as the squad looks to make the final Champions League qualifying spot this season. Silva’s current deal ends this summer, and he will have plenty to work on—should that be in the starting lineup or turbo-charging his projects off the field—after that.