From Football to Eco-Entrepreneurship: The Unlikely Journey of Mathieu Flamini

The world of football leads to earning very high figures thanks to sponsors and increasingly pharaonic new deals. In addition to this, investments allow players to reach quotas never thought of before, as happens for example to Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. In the collective imagination, these two are the richest footballers on the planet, especially the Portuguese, but if the field is widened to include former players then the name of the richest is Mathieu Flamini. Ex midfielder of Milan and Arsenal. It is not with these two clubs that he made his fortune, but after his departure from playing football. While he was active, in fact, he graduated in law and, as reported by As, opened a company in Marseille with Pasquale Granata, GF Biochemicals. An avant-garde activity that can combat the biggest problem in the world: pollution caused by plastic. The two exploit levulinic acid which allows the creation of biodegradable plastics. This makes it the perfect substitute for oil being also much more ecological. The products created with this new substance are more than 200 and range from cosmetics to lubricants, to shampoos and solvents. The value of the company is around 30 billion euros, a figure much higher than any existing football company. This, in fact, exceeds the value of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and United, Chelsea, and Liverpool combined. Finally, according to Forbes, Flamini's wealth is sixty times greater than that of Cristiano Ronaldo.