He says he has earned more money from business than from football.
“I was playing during a time when salaries were not at the current levels (…) I went into business during the boom period,” he said.
Popescu developed the Doldora bazaar in the Rahova district of Bucharest alongside two other partners and plans to develop a four-star hotel affiliated to the Marriott chain in the spring of next year.
After he gave football up, Popescu went into real estate. He invested in Romania after selling his properties in Spain. His football wealth was estimated at over $10 million.
“I went into business in 2004-2005. I didn’t have a background in business to help me, I had a lot to gain from my sports-related fame. It helped me position myself at a certain level. My diligence comes from sport.”
Popescu says he has a huge appetite for developing projects, but banks do not grant loans with the same ease as in 2007.
The former football player says at present financing is the biggest problem on the market. In his opinion, banks either are scared, or prefer to give money to the state to be on the safe side. He is in talks with three banks over a loan in order to start works on four-star hotel Courtyard by Marriott. The hotel is set to be ready in the second quarter of 2015.
Popescu says only two of his projects have failed, among them the Doldora bazaar in Bucharest.
“We started out on the wrong foot. When we opened the project, access was not finalized. When you make a bad start, it’s difficult to make things right, now we are looking to change the concept.” He says talks are ongoing with major retailers for the bazaar. “We will also build a major project next door, 400 apartments, which should cost up to EUR60,000.”
He says that in a first stage he will develop 80 apartments, without a bank loan. Popescu entered this EUR10 million project together with several other partners.
Asked what measures he would ask of the prime minister, Popescu said: “Firstly I would tell Victor Ponta that the country needs calm. Also needed are tax incentives – this is the first thing that investors look at. The biggest problem is getting VAT back. If you knew that you paid VAT and then got it back three months later, it wouldn’t be a problem,” he said.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)