Keko Martínez, from professional footballer to creator of a system to transcend in life through capital

The book “Capital Trascendente” (Plataforma Editorial) was recently presented at La Pedrera. Written by former footballer Keko Martínez, founder of Ariete Sports & Entertainment—a wealth planning firm that advises more than 200 athletes with combined assets exceeding €500 million—the book explores a new perspective on capital, success, and purpose

Francisco “Keko” Martínez was a professional footballer for 20 years. He played around 550 matches in the Spanish League, scoring nearly 200 goals and ranking among the top 25 all-time scorers in the LFP. After retiring, he trained in Economics and Finance.

He holds a degree in Business Studies, a Master’s in Financial Markets from UPF-BSM, and the European Financial Planner (EFP) certification. In 2009, he founded Ariete Sports & Entertainment, a firm specialized in wealth planning, life advisory, and comprehensive strategic support, now trusted by more than 200 athletes whose combined assets exceed €500 million.

“We live in an era of material abundance and, at the same time, profound poverty of meaning. Never before have there been so many resources and options, yet also such a widespread sense of emptiness, disconnection, and disorientation. Success has been reduced to numbers, status, and speed, while essential aspects such as purpose or true well-being are pushed aside,” the author argues.

From this reflection, the book proposes, through the Transcendent Capital system, a shift in perspective: capital ceases to be an end in itself and becomes a tool at the service of people. A system that integrates economic resources with emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions to guide life toward a true purpose.

With a practical and disruptive approach, Capital Trascendente offers uncomfortable questions, clear principles, and a method to build a more authentic life, aligned with what truly matters, using capital—in all its forms—as a driver of personal and collective transformation.

From professional football to the search for purpose

Coming from a working-class family, Keko Martínez combined football from a young age with a curiosity to understand and improve the world around him. While many of his teammates read sports newspapers, he was interested in economic publications and books on philosophy or religion.

The author himself recounts a key moment in his career: “At twenty-four, I lost my passion and decided to quit football. I returned six months later, stronger, more aware, more courageous.” That personal crisis marked the beginning of an inner search for the meaning of success, wealth, and personal fulfillment.

“When I definitively retired from football at 37, I understood that the real match of my life purpose was only just beginning,” he writes.

In 2009, he created Ariete Sports & Entertainment as a human response—before being an economic or financial one—to support those who have built their careers on talent and discipline, offering them tools to achieve sustainable financial and life stability after their professional stage.

A method to organize life

The "Capital trascendente" method proposes a way of understanding and using capital—economic, personal, and social—as a tool to build a meaningful life.

The starting point is a process of personal transcendence, in which the individual reflects on who they are, what values they hold, and what kind of life they want to build. The goal is to develop self-awareness and define an authentic life plan. Only when someone understands what truly matters to them can they make coherent decisions.

From there comes economic transcendence, which involves aligning financial capital and resources with that personal plan. This means understanding the system, organizing income and assets, protecting what has been built, and investing with purpose so that personal finances support the life project rather than constrain it.

The method is completed with social and life transcendence: when personal coherence and financial stability are achieved, capital is directed toward generating impact on others and on society.

Professional success does not imply life success

The book describes the context of today’s society: a fast-paced, efficient, and competitive world. “We scroll endlessly through screens, consume content compulsively, buy things we don’t need, and repeat a phrase that is almost a silent cry for help: I’m fine, but I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he states.

From this analysis, the author raises a central question: what does it really mean to prosper in a society where success is measured almost exclusively in material terms?

Keko Martínez’s answer revolves around redefining capital: “I founded Ariete when I understood something that daily life in sports doesn’t explain, but life eventually teaches you: professional success does not imply life success.”

In contrast to the traditional money-centered view, the author proposes a broader and more humanistic concept that integrates economic, emotional, social, and spiritual capital in service of personal fulfillment.

True wealth is not measured by a bank balance

Throughout the book, it is emphasized that personal and economic growth only makes sense if it is aligned with a life worth living.

“Don’t grow for the sake of growing. Grow if it makes sense, if it improves your impact, and if it brings you closer to the life you want to live,” Keko explains.

Ultimately, the work offers a reflection on how to regain control over personal decisions in a system that often pushes individuals to live according to external expectations.

For the author, true wealth is not measured by the size of a bank account, but by the ability to choose.

“Life transcendence is deciding what makes you feel alive, what connects you to yourself, and being able to look back in twenty years and say: I lived the way I wanted,” Keko notes.

The transcendence of social impact

The final stage of the method is social transcendence. In this direction, the book argues that success only gains meaning when it is put at the service of others. “Properly understood wealth is a multiplier of impact: it nourishes your family, your projects, your community, and even the stranger you help without them ever knowing your name,” he states.

Transcendence in its social dimension is behind Gate For Children, the foundation promoted by Keko Martínez with a central project in Phuket (Thailand), which supports local children through sports, education, and opportunities for their families. All proceeds from the book will be donated to this initiative.

“We won’t change the world, but we will change the world of a child. And that alone will have made it worthwhile,” the author says.

Published by Plataforma Editorial, the book includes forewords by Jorge Martín, MotoGP World Champion in 2024; Andrés Rodríguez, president and editor of Forbes Spain; and Ecequiel Barricart, creative director and writer.

Jorge Martín, MotoGP World Champion in 2024, describes Keko as “a guide,” someone who understands what lies behind success and also what comes when that success fades. “With Keko, I didn’t just organize my numbers, but also my values and my dreams. He taught me that it’s not only about winning today, but about building tomorrow. About creating a real legacy, with meaning.”