Juan Carlos Escotet is the new president of Deportivo La Coruña in Spain

The Spanish-Venezuelan businessman acquired 84% of the sports club’s shares in 2020 through Abanca | Photo: EFE

The Board of Directors of RC Deportivo has appointed Spanish-Venezuelan businessman Juan Carlos Escotet Rodríguez as the new president of the Spanish football club.

Escotet, 64 years old, is the majority shareholder of Deportivo de La Coruña and succeeds Álvaro García Diéguez as the president of this club, detailed the Spanish newspaper The world on Wednesday, July 10th.

On the other hand, former footballer Michelle Clemente Escotet, who is the niece of the Venezuelan businessman, will be the new vice president of the club.

According to the magazine Forbes, Juan Carlos Escotet has one of the largest fortunes in Spain, amounting to 4 billion dollars.

Photo: EFE

Escotet’s control over RC Deportivo

Juan Carlos Escotet’s control of the club began in January 2020, when the Spanish bank Abanca, of which he is president, became the main creditor of the sports club once they organized the debts acquired in 2013.

In June 2017, Abanca had lent the RC Deportivo regarding 45 million euros to settle a debt they had with the Tax Agency, reported the Spanish newspaper The country on Wednesday, July 10th.

Three years following settling this debt, Escotet became the owner of 84% of the shares of the sports club, but had not assumed the presidency until now.

Juan Carlos Escotet is the new president of Deportivo La Coruña in Spain — Photo: Banking and Business

Who is Juan Carlos Escotet?

Juan Carlos Escotet is a Spanish-Venezuelan economist and banker who was born in Madrid, Spain, on July 23, 1959. He is the son of two Spanish migrants in Venezuela and graduated in Economics from the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB).

Escotet is not only the president of Abanca in Spain, he is also the president and founder of the Venezuelan bank Banesco, which is an international entity that also operates in Panama, Brazil, Puerto Rico, the United States, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, the United Kingdom, among others.

The Venezuelan businessman has received several awards throughout his life, including the CODESPA Award for Social Innovation and the Círculo de Oro Award from the Círculo Empresarial Leonés, both in 2015.