JOSE MANUEL PINTO was a key member of arguably the greatest club side in football history.
The goalkeeper served as No 2 at Barcelona to Victor Valdes from 2007 to 2014, winning nine major trophies under Pep Guardiola including the treble in 2009.
He may have only played 90 matches for Barca in his seven seasons at the Nou Camp, but Pinto has been described as the ‘heart and soul’ of that dominant team.
A hugely popular character in that squad, Pinto was one of the players responsible for music in the dressing room and is one of Lionel Messi’s closest friends in football.
Spanish newspaper Marca even ran the headline ‘Messi’s best mate is leaving’ when Pinto’s contract expired.
His energetic, charismatic personality made him one of the jokers in the dressing room, capable of raising spirits and diffusing tension.
His final game, against Atletico Madrid in 2014, saw him become the oldest player to play for Barcelona in La Liga at 38 years, six months and nine days.
Now, four years later, he is making waves in the music business.
The 42-year-old had first founded his own record label in 2000, Wahin Makinacioes, but didn’t release any music himself until six years later.
Pinto used some of his career earnings to build himself a music studio in the small town of El Puerto de Santa Maria in south-west Spain.
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Going by the moniker ‘Wahin’, Pinto has had two of his songs featured on the soundtracks of Hollywood blockbusters.
‘Papi Papi’ was on the soundtrack of Ride Along 2 – a comedy film with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart which made $125million at the box office.
Then in 2017, La Habana was featured in a key scene of The Fate of the Furious.
The action flick, starring Vin Diesel, The Rock and Jason Statham, made more than $1billion worldwide.
Pinto’s track gained mass appeal off the back of the film, reaching the top 10 of the Billboard charts and selling throughout Latin America.
Pinto Wahin has also been awarded for his work on other projects – he also won an Andalusian (a Latin Grammy) for his work as an engineer on an album by Spanish popstar Nina Pastori.
Pinto, who has a degree in sound engineering and a masters in musical production, said his team-mates always knew he would go into music after his career finished. Speaking last year, he told Billboard magazine: “All of the guys knew what I was going to do.
“They saw me studying my sound engineering books on the plane when we travelled.
“A lot of people know me as a football player, but I was composing songs when I was 14.
“I’ve always liked music and I’ve always liked sports.
“Music always helped me be a better athlete.
“Even when you’re playing in the first division, you have bad days.
“Music has always been an escape valve for me.”
Pinto has since produced the music for a documentary on the famous Barcelona team – called Take the Ball Pass the Ball – and continues to work on his own projects.
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He is a frequent flyer to the US, where he works with numerous artists in the worlds of Latin American music and hip hop.
Pinto admits he doesn’t watch much football anymore.
He added: “I don’t have time to stop and watch a match.
“I’m 100 percent focused on music now… I want to put everything I have to realise my dream to make music – I want to enjoy it the way I enjoyed football.”
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