 From 2005 until his retirement in 2010 at the age of only 28, Elá played exclusively in amateur football, the sole exception being eight third level games for UDA Gramenet in the 2006–07 campaign.After retiring, Elá returned to Barcelona and started his own clothing line, Malabona (a combination of "Malabo" and "Barcelona"), working alongside his wife Esther in the design of T-shirts and all kinds of fashion clothes, which were then sold via the internet.His younger brother, Ruslan, was also a footballer.