Origen is gearing up for its big return to League of Legends, and it’s doing so with the support of Álvaro Arbeloa. The retired footballer played for Real Madrid and Liverpool throughout the peak of his career, before retiring at West Ham United.

The Spaniard mentioned Origen a couple of times on social media leading up to the announcement, spawning rumours and speculation regarding his involvement.

Taking to Twitter, Arbeloa announced that he’s now a part of Origen – though he didn’t say in what capacity. It’s perhaps too outlandish to presume he’ll be playing on their LoL roster, instead it makes sense that he’s invested in the organisation and is now a partner. Using #OGresurrection in the tweet, the former defender is clearly referencing the team’s return to competition ahead of the European Masters.

It’s been reported that Arbeloa’s brother is an investment manager and recently followed Origen on Twitter, which added a pittance of weight to his investment into the newly-returned organisation ahead of his announcement.

Origen hasn’t competed for almost nine months following a disappointing showing in the European Challenger Series. The organisation announced its return recently, as well as the signings of Choi “inSec” In-seok and Ki “Expect” Dae-Han ahead of the European Masters.

Esports Insider says: It’s interesting that Arbeloa has entered the world of esports, but it’s even more interesting that he’s joined a team so closely to the EU LCS franchising model being announced. We’ll be keeping an eye on Arbeloa and Origen throughout the year leading up to the next season.