Lionel Messi Joins Luis Suarez to Launch New Soccer Team Deportivo LSM in Uruguay

Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez are taking their partnership from the field to the business world.

Per the Associated Press' Ramiro Barreiro, the two stars have founded a professional soccer team in Suárez's home country, Uruguay. Suárez announced that Deportivo LS will now be called LSM and will compete professionally in Uruguay's fourth division.

Suárez announced the news on his Instagram on Tuesday.

“Deportivo LS is a family dream that began in 2018. We have grown a lot with more than 3,000 members,” Suarez said. “I want to offer Uruguayan soccer, the place I love and where I grew up as a child, opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to grow.”

It's unclear exactly what role Messi will serve for the team, but Barreiro noted that local media reported that he will be a partner.

“I’m proud and happy that you chose me, so I hope to contribute everything I can to continue growing and, above all, to be by your side in this,” Messi said in the video posted by Suárez.

Barreiro added that Álvaro Recoba, who played alongside Suárez on Uruguay's national team, will reportedly be the new team's coach.

Messi and Suárez played together for Barcelona from 2014 to 2020, and Suárez joined Inter Miami last year to once again team up with Messi, who has played for the club in the MLS since 2023.

The new team founded by Suárez continues his efforts to expand soccer across Uruguay. In 2018, he and his family opened a 20-acre sports complex with a synthetic turf stadium with a capacity for 1,400 fans in Ciudad de la Costa outside of Montevideo, Barreiro noted.