{"id":7507,"date":"2026-04-19T10:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/7507\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T10:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:00:10","slug":"three-barcelona-icons-who-made-the-same-ownership-move-as-lionel-messi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/7507\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Barcelona icons who made the same ownership move as Lionel Messi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has taken a significant step into football ownership by acquiring Spanish fifth-division side UE Cornella<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While still actively playing for Inter Miami and representing Argentina national team, Messi is now shaping the future of a club rooted in youth development.<\/p>\n

This Catalonia-based side has built a strong reputation over the years for nurturing talent, having played a role in the development of players like Jordi Alba and Gerard Martin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alba, in particular, spent formative years at Cornella before sealing his move to Barcelona back in 2012, a transfer that would eventually see him become one of the club\u2019s most iconic full-backs.<\/p>\n

By stepping into ownership while still playing at the highest level, Messi is positioning himself as a long-term stakeholder in football\u2019s ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Notably, this marks his first independent venture in club ownership, following his earlier collaboration with Luis Suarez in launching Deportivo LSM in Uruguay.<\/p>\n

However, Messi is far from the first Barcelona icon to explore this path.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, several former Blaugrana stars have already paved the way, turning their footballing vision into tangible club projects.<\/p>\n

Gerard Pique\u2019s Andorra revolution<\/p>\n

\"GerardGerard Pique owns FC Andorra. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki\/Getty Images For Sportel)<\/p>\n

One of the most prominent examples is Gerard Pique, who moved early into football ownership through his company Kosmos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2018, Pique acquired FC Andorra and wasted no time implementing his vision.<\/p>\n

The impact was immediate, as within just half a season, the club achieved promotion to the Third Division.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That same summer, they accelerated their climb through Spanish football.<\/p>\n

Under the guidance of coach Eder Sarabia, Andorra eventually reached the Segunda Division.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While they have since experienced ups and downs, the club remains competitive in Liga Hypermotion and is widely recognised for its Bar\u00e7a-inspired philosophy, prioritising possession-based football and technical development.<\/p>\n

Pique\u2019s project stands as a blueprint for modern football ownership, blending business strategy with a clear sporting identity.<\/p>\n

Jordi Alba and Thiago\u2019s vision at Hospitalet<\/p>\n

\"\"Thiago and Jordi Alba are shareholders in CE L\u2019Hospitalet. (Photo by Manu Fernandez\/Pool via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Cornella now shares its division with CE L\u2019Hospitalet, another club backed by former Barcelona stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Jordi Alba and Thiago Alcantara are shareholders in the historic Catalan side, commonly known as \u2018Hospi\u2019.<\/p>\n

Their involvement goes beyond financial investment as they are committed to restoring the club\u2019s stature.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Upon joining the project, their ambition was to \u201crestore the club to the place it deserves, at the very top of professional football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since stepping away from top-level football, Alba has frequently been seen attending matches in person, maintaining a close connection with the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Thiago\u2019s appearances have been more sporadic, largely due to his commitments within FC Barcelona\u2019s coaching structure under Hansi Flick.<\/p>\n

Ronaldo\u2019s ambitious but turbulent Valladolid spell<\/p>\n

Another notable case is that of Ronaldo Nazario, who took control of Real Valladolid in 2018 by purchasing a 51% stake for \u20ac30 million.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ronaldo\u2019s Valladolid tenure was horrific. (Photo by David Ramos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Ronaldo\u2019s arrival brought optimism and bold promises.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his first season, Valladolid managed to secure La Liga survival, and the Brazilian icon made an ambitious declaration about the club\u2019s future ambitions.<\/p>\n

With clear intent, he stated, \u201cWithin five seasons, the aim would be to compete for Champions League places.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the reality proved more complicated. His tenure was marked by instability, with Valladolid experiencing two promotions and three relegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the fluctuations, Ronaldo eventually sold the club at the end of the 2024\/25 season, while they were in the second tier, for \u20ac50 million to an investment fund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has taken a significant step into football ownership by acquiring Spanish fifth-division side UE…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,223,325,4865,4866,332,4867,4868],"class_list":["post-7507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-featured","tag-gerard-pique","tag-jordi-alba","tag-lionel-messi","tag-ronaldo-nazario","tag-thiago-alcantara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}