New owner Lionel Messi surprises UE Cornellà players with humble first message: “I just wanted to introduce myself”

It’s not often you’re on the receiving end of a video call from Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest soccer star to have ever lived. However, the semi-professional players of UE Cornellà were given a pep talk by the Inter Miami playmaker as they push for promotion to the Segunda RFEF, the fourth tier of Spanish soccer.

Messi follows Cristiano, Mbappé and Vinicius

Of course, Messi calling in wasn’t a coincidence. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Argentina captain had taken full ownership of the team, joining the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior as active top-level players who have taken the step into club ownership.

Given Messi’s long association with Barcelona, we perhaps shouldn’t be surprised the 38-year-old hand-picked a team based in a municipality on the outskirts of the Catalan city.

But judging by the faces of some of the players, largely semi-pros who work “normal” jobs alongside their soccer careers, they perhaps weren’t expecting to have first-hand contact with one of the legends of the sport.

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