{"id":609952,"date":"2026-04-17T09:41:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T09:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/609952\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T09:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T09:41:09","slug":"lionel-messi-buys-soccer-club-ambitious-plans-laid-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/609952\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi Buys Soccer Club, Ambitious Plans Laid Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Messi\u2019s arrival marks the beginning of a new chapter in the club\u2019s history, aimed at driving both sporting and institutional growth, strengthening its foundations, and continuing to invest in talent. The project is guided by a long-term vision and a strategic plan that combines ambition, sustainability, and a strong connection to its local roots.<\/p>\n

UE Cornell\u00e0 Mission Statement<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi\u2019s return to Spanish soccer is complete, well \u2026 in part. The eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner is the new owner of UE Cornell\u00e0, a team based around 70 miles up the coast from Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Combining club ownership with his ongoing playing career with Inter Miami and Argentina, Messi\u2019s arrival is quickly serving to put the team from the Tercera Federaci\u00f3n\u2014Spain\u2019s fifth tier\u2014on the map.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1951, Cornell\u00e0 have spent much of their history floating between Spain\u2019s fourth and sixth levels. But a sustained spell in the third tier from 2014 until 2024, at one point finishing as high as fourth place in the league standings three years in a row, shows the potential there is. However, successive relegations since 2024 have pushed the club back to tier five.<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s Chief Ambition With Cornell\u00e0 Made Clear<\/p>\n

Cornell\u00e0 has a reputation for developing players and is what the club prides itself on.<\/p>\n

Jordi Alba, Messi\u2019s teammate for many years, spent two seasons with the club after being released from La Masia at the age of 16. Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya also passed through, prior to journeying to England as a teenager to make his career.<\/p>\n

The statement announcing the takeover suggests Messi is keen on continuing that legacy: \u201cMessi\u2019s commitment to young talent is also reflected in the club\u2019s strong youth structure, with teams competing in the top youth categories at both national and regional levels. This commitment has also been demonstrated by the Argentina captain through other youth development initiatives, such as the\u00a0Messi\u00a0Cup\u2014a tournament featuring eight of the world\u2019s top U16 teams.<\/p>\n

Messi famously joined Barcelona<\/a> aged 13 and spent the next 21 years of his life rewriting the club\u2019s history. The opportunity to build his own version of that is too good to miss.<\/p>\n

That ties into exactly what he said as recently as January 2026 when discussing what comes next.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see myself as a coach,\u201d Messi told Argentine streaming channel Luzu TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the idea of being a manager, but I\u2019d prefer to be an owner. I\u2019d like to have my own club, start from the bottom, and make it grow. To be able to give the kids the opportunity to develop and achieve something important. If I had to choose, that’s what would appeal to me most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messi Shown Roadmap by Former Teammate\u2019s Achievement\"FC<\/p>\n

Gerard Pique co-owns FC Andorra. | Martin Silva Cosentino\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Messi has witnessed firsthand what might be possible at first-team level.<\/p>\n

In December 2018, close friend Gerard Pique turned his hand to club ownership with the purchase of FC Andorra. Although based in the foreign microstate of the same name, the team competed in Spain\u2019s soccer pyramid and were in the fifth tier at the time\u2014just as Cornell\u00e0 are now.<\/p>\n

Fast forward a few years and Andorra reached Spain\u2019s second division\u2014often referred to as La Liga 2\u2014as soon as 2022. They were relegated two seasons later but have since returned and look set for a top-half finish in 2025\u201326. Promotion to La Liga sooner rather than later is the obvious target.<\/p>\n

In England, Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac picked up Wrexham<\/a> in the equivalent level\u2014the National League represents step five on the ladder. Now, after three successive promotions from 2022\u201323 onwards, the Red Dragons are fighting to get into the Premier League for 2026\u201327.<\/p>\n

READ THE LATEST SOCCER NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC\"\"Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Messi\u2019s arrival marks the beginning of a new chapter in the club\u2019s history, aimed at driving both sporting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609953,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-609952","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}