Lionel Messi Buys Fifth Division Spanish Football Club Cornellà

Lionel Messi has acquired Unió Esportiva Cornellà, a tiny Spanish lower-division football club based just outside Barcelona, the city where the Argentine star made his name.

Cornellà is a 75-year-old club in its namesake city in the Barcelona metropolitan area and plays in Spain’s fifth division. While Messi, one of football’s all-time greats, has no direct links to the team, he moved to Barcelona at the age of 12 to join FC Barcelona.

Messi’s investment puts him back into competition with his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who bought a stake in Spanish club UD Almería in February. Their rivalry on ...