Lionel Messi’s next project? Women’s football
Women’s football is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity on the business market. The shift is visible not only in the transfer market, but also in club ownership. After Serena Williams, Natalie Portman, and Ed Sheeran, another major name is entering the scene. The GOAT himself.
Few people in football's word carry more influence than Lionel Messi, widely regarded by many as the greatest footballer of all time. While that title will always involve a degree of subjectivity, Messi has certainly earned his place in the conversation.
At 38 years old, he has been at the top of the game for a very long time. In less than a month, he will lead Argentina into the World Cup as captain and reigning world champion. And even a figure as monumental as Messi recognises that women’s football is no longer something to overlook. That is why he has decided to enter the space himself and build something from the ground up.
On April 16, 2026, Messi purchased Unión Cornellà, a club playing in the regional Segunda Catalana, roughly the seventh tier of Spanish football, with ambitions of gradually climbing toward Liga F. On its own, that would not be especially unusual. Many footballers of his stature own smaller clubs: Kylian Mbappé owns SM Caen, while Zlatan Ibrahimović is a part-owner of swedish side Hammarby.
Not something to overlook
What makes Messi’s project different is his decision to create a women’s section, something the club had never previously had. And his ambitions are equally high: to eventually reach Liga F. The league is currently dominated by his beloved Barcelona, making the prospect of Messi’s own club competing against them a fascinating storyline.
Similar ambitions can be seen in the Frauen-Bundesliga project at Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund’s women’s team was founded only in 2020 and has climbed the pyramid season after season. The club recently received a major boost with the arrival of Alexandra Popp after 14 years at Wolfsburg, as well as Ralf Kellermann, who spent the last two decades at Wolfsburg working as a scout, coach, sporting director, and head of the women’s department.
Kellermann turned Wolfsburg into a European powerhouse, winning Bundesliga titles, a record eleven domestic cups, and two Champions League trophies in 2013 and 2014. Together with coach Thomas Högner, his task at Dortmund is to establish professional structures capable of reaching the Bundesliga. His next challenge is now clear.
The most important thing
Messi has not yet revealed what kind of signings or investments he is planning for his club. Unión Cornellà is already scouting youth players across Catalonia, while the women’s team will initially operate at amateur level with plans for gradual professionalisation and investment into infrastructure.
But the very fact that Messi is investing in and building a women’s team speaks volumes. For him, women’s football is clearly not something to be pushed aside or treated as secondary.
And there is no time to waste. Messi is already pushing for the women’s team to debut in the 2026/27 season, only a few months away, operating directly under the club rather than through a local foundation.
Naturally, as an elite athlete himself, Messi understands what matters most: infrastructure. Part of the vision includes expanding the stadium to around 8,000 seats and building a modern training facility. Because that is where everything begins. Manchester City understand that too, having recently opened a new £10 million training centre for their women’s side.
Much like Ian Wright, the former Arsenal player and current pundit who has become one of the biggest advocates and ambassadors for women’s football in England, Messi could become a similarly influential figure for the women’s game in Spain and South America. After all, many of today’s players grew up idolising him and still consider him one of their biggest inspirations.
