television, investments and viral videos

He has never boasted of glamour or projected that smug air of power, grandeur and inaccessibility that accompanies other great footballers. The 43-year-old from Cadiz Joaquin Sanchez He has been an essential part of the history of Real Betis Balompie, a club where he was between 2000 and 2006, and later in a final phase that was from 2015 to 2023, with an annual fee of around one million euros. Charismatic and fun, the midfielder left many fans orphaned with his departure in June last year after a 23-year career because not only was a beloved professional footballer hanging up his boots, but also that simple, funny kid with an ego so far removed from that of his other teammates in the locker room that his fans fell in love with so much.

Because Joaquín is the friendly, familiar and simple guy who is ideal if you want to have a few beers, laugh out loud or receive some lessons in humility. Perhaps for all this, his figure did not fall into oblivion when he took off the green and white shirt. That was the end of one path, but another began, focused on his family, his business and television, in which he has not stopped scoring goals and attracting the affection of his new fans, who are no longer just football fans.

Already in his farewell speech Joaquín stressed that “lLife is a constant evolution and the secret is to have the ability to adapt to changes, face each day as a challenge and always put a little bit of art in everything.And that is what he has done. Before leaving the pitch, it should be noted, he already had part of his future secured. Not in vain, in 2017 he acquired shares in his club, Betis, 11.7% of the total and already had part of his assets in the real estate business. Thus, in addition to having known how to invest in brick and mortar, with a private property in Seville – until now they have lived in a chalet located in Mairena de Aljarafe, but they plan to move to Gelves – and another in Marbella – a 183 square metre flat whose price exceeds one million euros -, he became the sole administrator of a company called Chino Seventeen SL, created in 2004 and dedicated to the promotion of flats, with an asset that was around one million euros. To that, of course, we should add a company that manages his image rights, with which he invoices his advertising income and his television projects, which have not only been highly applauded, but increasingly numerous.

Since 2009, Joaquín has become a regular face on The Anthill and he has even dared to appear as a lead actor in some series, such as Aída, or in the film Héroes de Barrio, playing himself. But over the years he has been getting the hang of the medium and we have gotten to know him thanks to the interviews he has given in Mi casa es la tuya or Mi casa es la nuestra. In 2022, however, he made his first leap as a presenter with the format Joaquín, el novato, on Antena 3, which would be followed by Joaquín: la penúltima y me voy. This same month of September 2024, as one of the highlights of the autumn season, the channel premiered last day 5 Emparejados, a special by Joaquín together with his wife, Susana Saborido, in which they interviewed Jesulín de Ubrique and María José Campanario before subjecting them to fun tests. The show will continue with new episodes later on, but the next television adventure that Joaquín will embark on with his family – his wife Susana and his daughters Daniela and Salma – is Captain in America, a format that he recorded in July in which he takes an exciting trip around the United States to offer viewers an original, fun and different perspective of what it’s like to travel along the West Coast and cities like San Francisco or Los Angeles.

But also for those generations who do not watch TV, Joaquín and his wife have already become real stars, especially on Tik Tok and Instagram, where they create fans by sharing jokes or viral challenges, and even with their funny fights, their arguments and their disagreements, some “marriage scenes” followed by more than 4.3 million IG users that he has and hers’ 225,000, who also continues to conquer the Andalusians in “El show de Bertín”. It is clear that she does not intend to hang up her television and media boots for a long time, because every step she takes with them is firm and applauded as much as her achievements on the playing field were in their day.