{"id":30399,"date":"2026-04-16T17:04:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/messi-buys-barcelonas-lower-league-soccer-club\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:04:23","slug":"messi-buys-barcelonas-lower-league-soccer-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/messi-buys-barcelonas-lower-league-soccer-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi buys Barcelona&#8217;s lower league soccer club"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) \u2014 <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">lionel messi<\/span> The Argentine superstar has become the owner of Spain&#8217;s fifth division football club after signing Barcelona-based UE Cornell\u00e1.<\/p>\n<p>Messi was the best player of his generation during his 20 years at FC Barcelona, \u200b\u200bwinning multiple titles and the Ballon d&#8217;Or before his retirement in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Cornella is a modest club in a working-class neighborhood. The club announced the deal on Thursday without disclosing details of the acquisition.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The arrival of Leo Messi marks the beginning of a new chapter in the club&#8217;s history,&#8221; the club said in a statement. \u201cThis project is guided by a long-term vision and strategic plan that combines ambition, sustainability and a strong connection to our local roots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cornella was founded in 1951 and has helped produce players such as Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya and former Barcelona defender Jordi Alba, who played alongside Messi at Inter Miami.<\/p>\n<p>Messi, 38, is aiming to qualify for the world championship. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">world cup<\/span> Argentina will defend its title in North America this summer.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP Soccer: <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/messi-owner-cornella-club-fc27a69d2d79157236046eaccdeedc4e\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) \u2014 lionel messi The Argentine superstar has become the owner of Spain&#8217;s fifth division football club after signing Barcelona-based UE Cornell\u00e1. Messi was the best player of his generation during his 20 years at FC Barcelona, \u200b\u200bwinning multiple titles and the Ballon d&#8217;Or before his retirement in 2021. Cornella is a modest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-30399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Messi buys Barcelona&#039;s lower league soccer club - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/messi-buys-barcelonas-lower-league-soccer-club\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Messi buys Barcelona&#039;s lower league soccer club - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BARCELONA, Spain (AP) \u2014 lionel messi The Argentine superstar has become the owner of Spain&#8217;s fifth division football club after signing Barcelona-based UE Cornell\u00e1. Messi was the best player of his generation during his 20 years at FC Barcelona, \u200b\u200bwinning multiple titles and the Ballon d&#8217;Or before his retirement in 2021. 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