Football legend Lionel Messi has bought a luxury hotel in southern Spain and has reportedly fired 40 staff members in one his company’s first moves as new owners.

Messi, owner of the MiM Hotels chain, bought the luxury Hotel Club Maritimo de Sotogrande in San Roque, close to Gibraltar, in the province of Cadiz in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.

The news site 20 Minutos called it one of the most sought-after hotels in the plush area.

In one of the company’s first moves since acquiring the hotel, 40 staff members, some with over 20 years’ experience, have been notified of their dismissal, according to the news site Telecinco.

San Roque mayor Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix criticised the move and said he is trying to negotiate with MiM about the decision.

He said: “The hotel has a regular clientele, with families who have been spending summers there for over 20 years, and we are not going to allow the (company’s) first decision to be the dismissal of many great professionals, men and women who have the support of the mayor and who must stay in their jobs.

“There are staff members with 25, 30 years of experience and unfortunately, the first news that reaches them from the new hotel group was about their dismissal.”

He added: “It is unjust, inexplicable. We will fight for the staff to get their jobs back when the hotel reopens.”

The mayor also highlighted the case of one worker called Miguel, who has dedicated 26 years of his working life to the hotel, adding that he is now unemployed at the age of 49.

The Sotogrande urbanisation, where the hotel is located, is considered one of the most prestigious holiday destinations for high earners in southern Spain.

The hotel is the sixth to be acquired by Messi’s group and is expected to reopen in April as the MiM Sotogrande Club Maritimo.