Cornellá · History

The Nou Estadi Municipal de Cornellà, opened in 2012, is the home of Unió Esportiva Cornellà. The ground has an artificial pitch and is part of a complex that also includes two seven-a-side pitches and a goalkeeper training area. It belongs to a club from the Baix Llobregat area founded on 29 April 1951. Cornellà spent decades in Catalan regional football, reached the Spanish third tier in 2014 and played three seasons in Primera RFEF between 2021 and 2024.

Origins and founding

Organised football in Cornellà de Llobregat goes back to before the Spanish Civil War. In 1923 Fútbol Club Cables Elèctrics was set up. It became Atlètic Cornellà that same year and took the name FC Cornellà in 1931, but it disappeared during the war. The present club was formed in 1951 through the merger of Atlètic Padró and Acadèmia Junyent. Over the years other local clubs joined it, among them Col·legi Sant Miquel in the 1967-68 season. In 1985 the Escuela de Fútbol Cornellà was created, the start of the youth work that shaped the club in the decades that followed.

From regional football to Tercera División

For much of its history, Cornellà played in the Catalan regional divisions. It won its Primera Regional group in 1990-91 and finished top of the Preferent Territorial in 1995-96. The first promotion to Tercera División, the fourth tier, came in 1999 after a second-place finish in Primera Catalana in 1998-99. That spell lasted three seasons. The club went down in 2002, won Primera Catalana in 2002-03 and returned to Tercera, then was relegated again in 2006. Another Primera Catalana title, in 2007-08, took it back up, and this time it stayed. After finishing second in 2012-13, the team won its Tercera División group in 2013-14 and was promoted to Segunda División B.

Seven seasons in Segunda División B

Cornellà finished fifteenth in its first Segunda B season, 2014-15. From then on it settled in the upper half of its group: fifth in 2015-16, ninth in 2016-17 and fourth in three straight seasons, from 2017-18 to 2019-20. In June 2018 it won the Copa Catalunya, beating Horta 3-2 away in the final at La Bòbila in Gavà with goals from Fall, Mujica and Merchán. It had knocked out Nàstic 3-1 in the semi-final. The 2020-21 season was the last before Spain restructured its lower divisions, and Cornellà finished it top of its group. In May 2021 goals from Borja García and Dorca at the José Rico Pérez stadium in Alicante earned promotion to the new Primera RFEF.

Copa del Rey nights

The Copa del Rey gave the club its highest-profile games. In 2014-15 the draw paired Cornellà with Real Madrid in the round of 32. The first leg was played on 29 October 2014 at the RCDE Stadium in front of almost 29,000 spectators. Óscar Muñoz scored for Cornellà and Carlo Ancelotti's side won 4-1. In the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu on 2 December, Madrid won 5-0. Six years later, on 6 January 2021, Cornellà were still in Segunda B when they knocked out Atlético Madrid, then top of La Liga, with a 1-0 win in the second round. In the round of 32 they faced FC Barcelona, who needed extra time to win 2-0 later that January.

Primera RFEF and relegations

Cornellà spent three seasons in Primera RFEF, the third tier of Spanish football. They finished fourteenth in 2021-22 and eleventh in 2022-23. In 2023-24 they came eighteenth and were relegated to Segunda Federación. A fourteenth-place finish in their group in 2024-25 brought another relegation, this time to Tercera Federación, the fifth tier.

Youth development

Developing players has long been central to the club. Jordi Alba played for Cornellà from 2005 to 2007 before joining Valencia. Its youth teams also produced goalkeeper David Raya, who left for Blackburn Rovers in England, Senegalese forward Keita Baldé, defender Víctor Ruiz, Ignasi Miquel, Rubén Miño and Jordan international Tha'er Bawab.

Lionel Messi takes over

On 16 April 2026 the club announced that Lionel Messi had completed the purchase of UE Cornellà and become its owner. According to press reports, he acquired 100% of the club. The deal added to his other club ventures in Argentina and Uruguay. At the time Cornellà were playing in Group V of Tercera Federación, the division they had dropped into in 2025.