Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Thursday, December 25, 2025, 6:05 p.m. / Updated Thursday, December 25, 2025, 6:06 p.m.
The football team from La Baneza, Spain, won the Christmas lottery prize, worth 468 million euros and … now they want the Brazilian Vinicius (25).
The city of La Baneza, in the province of Leon, experienced an incredible transformation in just a few hours. From a difficult year, he became a symbol of hope thanks to the famous “Christmas Lottery” in Spain.
The €468 million jackpot was largely distributed to the local community, as the city's football team bought the lucky ticket and made it available to members, supporters and various shops in the area, according to sportal.gr.
They struck at Christmas and want to buy Vinicius
The mayor of La Baneza, Javier Carrera, confirmed that the distribution of the ticket by the club and other local federations ensured that the winnings were widely spread among the approximately 11,000 residents. The team, who compete in Castilla y Leon's first regional division B and are just two points off the top, can now realistically hope for promotion to the third division thanks to this unexpected financial “injection”.
In the celebrations that followed at the La Llanada stadium, the club's president, Gonzalo Prieto, was applauded by the supporters. He said the money would be used “to improve the team, but also for the city”, which was facing economic difficulties.
In a celebratory atmosphere, Prieto joked: “If Vinicius is unhappy at Real, we will buy him”. He clarified that the award would be shared with “directors, coaches, players and our neighbours”, his comments reflecting the euphoria being felt in the city. Of course, the reality is that Real Madrid's Brazilian star could easily buy the entire team.
