April 16 (UPI) -- Argentine soccer icon Lionel Messi purchased UE Cornella of Spain's Tercera Federacion, the fifth-tier Catalonia-based franchise announced Thursday. Terms were not announced. "This move reinforces Messi's close ties to Barcelona and his commitment to the development of sport and local talent in Catalonia -- a connection rooted in his years at FC Barcelona and sustained ever since," Cornella said in a news release . Jordi Alba, one of Messi's former teammates at Inter Miami and