Birmingham City and Aston Villa supporters may be shocked to see what ex-star is up to now | OneFootball

Former Birmingham City and Aston Villa player Jota is set to become a billionaire thanks to off-field exploits

Jota's retirement in 2022 would have gone under the radar of most football supporters after being without a club for over a year, but the 33-year-old is now turning heads thanks to his off-field exploits.

The Spaniard made a name for himself in the English game with spells in the Championship with Brentford and Birmingham City, before sealing a move to the Premier League with Aston Villa in 2019, making the controversial switch from St Andrew's to Villa Park.

However, Jota's time at Villa Park didn't live up to expectations, and he left the club in the summer of 2020 after just one season, signing for Alaves in his homeland.

Just one season with Alaves followed before Jota became a free agent in 2021, and after a year without a club where he turned down a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia, as per The Mirror, the Spaniard announced his retirement to focus on his business, and it proved a wise move.

Birmingham City and Aston Villa supporters will be shocked at what Jota is up to

Since retiring from football, Jota has focused his efforts on his business called Groinn - an agricultural technology company.

The Spaniard invested money into the company after his playing days came to an end, and profit margins are expected to reach a billion pounds, with Groinn set to be valued at £600million by the end of 2025, as per The Mirror.

Groinn makes a device which helps farmers with day-to-day tasks, and costs just £175 compared to similar products which cost £25,000, and the company has agreed a deal with the Spanish Government to provide digital agricultural aid, with Jota confident of more big deals on the way.

The former Birmingham City man has said that the value of the company is 10 times more than what he invested into the company, and claims they will make a £1billion profit.

It looks as if Jota will become a billionaire in the future, a remarkable achievement, and he's come a long way from playing in the Championship.

Jota retired from football earlier than most of his peers to focus on his business, and on this evidence, it's certainly a move that has paid off for the Spaniard, and supporters of Birmingham City and Aston Villa certainly wouldn't have expected this during his playing days.

Birmingham City and Aston Villa will have very different memories of Jota

Jota was a fans' favourite at St Andrew's, scoring eight goals and registering 11 assists in 75 appearances for the club, becoming a regular starter for Blues in the two seasons he was at the club.

However, his move to bitter rivals Aston Villa in the summer of 2019 wasn't quite as fruitful, and he scored just one goal in 16 appearances during his brief stay at Villa Park.

Dean Smith had signed him following Villa's promotion to the Premier League, and he'd been earmarked as someone from the Championship who could make the step-up to the top-flight, but it didn't quite work out that way, being allowed to leave the club after one year.

That brought down the curtain on his time in English football, and while Villa supporters won't have fond memories of Jota's time at Villa Park, they'll certainly respect what he's doing now and the fortune he's made for himself.