Andorra, who are owned by Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, have bought Reus’ place in the Spanish third division for almost €500,000, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed on Monday.
Pique’s company, Kosmo Global Holding, took control of Andorra in January when the club were playing in the Catalan Premier Division, a regionalised league within the fifth tier of the Spanish football pyramid.
In addition to purchasing Andorra, the Catalan has also been involved in the restructuring of the Davis Cup in tennis through Kosmos. Kosmos recently struck a partnership with the International Tennis Federation for a 25-year, $3 billion partnership to transform the Davis Cup and generate substantial revenues for global tennis development. Pique has also launched business ventures in esports, video games, eyeglasses, isotonic drinks and organic hamburgers.
Following investment in the winter transfer window, the club ended the campaign celebrating promotion to the fourth division after a 22-game unbeaten streak.
However, they will now go straight to Segunda B instead, which is just two divisions below La Liga and consists of four groups of 20 teams. They will be in the same group as Barca B, the Spanish champions’ reserve team.
Andorra saw off competition from Zamora, Jaen, Intercity and Linares to replace crisis-stricken Reus.
The club, which is based in the independent principality of Andorra situated between France and Spain, had to deposit €452,022 to be assured of their inclusion in the league.
Bankrupt Reus were relegated from the second division to the third division midway through last season due to financial problems but have been unable to come up with the money to take their place in Segunda B.
Andorra are coached by former Barcelona player Gabri and Pique has said he wants to make them fully professional in the long-term. A place in Segunda B could speed up those plans.