Lionel Messi completes takeover of Spanish club Eldense

Lionel Messi has completed the acquisition of Spanish second-division side CD Eldense, the club announced on Thursday — just days before his Argentina farewell against Benin on 6 October 2026.

The announcement

CD Eldense confirmed on Thursday that Lionel Messi has completed the purchase of the club, making the 39-year-old the majority owner of a Spanish professional club for the first time. The announcement, published on the club's official channels, ends weeks of negotiations that were first reported in September.

"Club Deportivo Eldense officially announces the acquisition of the club by Leo Messi, marking the start of a new and exciting chapter in the club's history, which spans more than a hundred years," the club wrote. The statement framed the move as the beginning of a long-term project aimed at the sporting, institutional and social development of the institution.

Reuters reported that Messi agreed last month to acquire all of the shares held by the previous majority shareholder, the Colombian investment group Grupo TH, led by Juan Carlos Trujillo.

One signature still missing

The transaction is not yet fully closed. As the club itself noted, the deal remains subject to the required authorization from Spain's National Sports Council (CSD) under the terms of the country's Sports Law. That approval is a standard regulatory step for takeovers in Spanish professional football, and there is no indication it is in doubt.

Until the CSD signs off, the previous ownership structure technically remains in place — but both parties are treating the sale as done, with Eldense already speaking publicly about the "Messi era."

Who are CD Eldense?

Founded in 1921, Eldense are one of Spanish football's historic smaller clubs — and one that has never played in La Liga. Based in the city of Elda, inland from Alicante in the Valencian Community, they play at the modest 5,776-capacity Estadio Municipal Nuevo Pepico Amat.

The club's recent history has been turbulent. Promoted to the second tier in 2023 for the first time since 1964, they were relegated in 2025 and bounced straight back up this past summer. This season has started badly: after seven matches they sit 19th of 22 clubs, with four defeats, and coach Claudio Barragán — the former Spain striker — was sacked earlier this week, leaving the club temporarily without a manager.

For Messi, in other words, this is not a vanity purchase of a thriving club. It is a rebuilding project at a side fighting relegation.

Messi's growing football portfolio

Eldense is the second Spanish club Messi has bought this year. In April he acquired UE Cornellà, a fifth-tier side based near Barcelona — though Cornellà remain semi-professional, which makes Eldense his first fully professional club investment in the country.

The portfolio is growing quickly. Messi is also partially involved with Deportivo LSM in Uruguay alongside Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez, his family founded a club called Leones in Argentina, and media reports have long claimed his Inter Miami contract includes a provision for him to become a shareholder of the MLS club after he retires from playing.

ESPN noted one potential complication down the road: with Messi now majority shareholder of two Spanish clubs, the Royal Spanish Football Federation would be unlikely to allow Eldense and Cornellà to compete in the same division. For now the sides are separated by three tiers, so it is a problem for another day.

Why the timing matters

The announcement lands four days before the biggest date left in Messi's international career: his farewell for Argentina against Benin on 6 October at the Estadio Más Monumental. The juxtaposition is striking — as one chapter of his football life closes in Buenos Aires, another opens in Elda.

Messi, who retired from international football in late August after Argentina's World Cup final defeat to Spain, continues to play club football for Inter Miami. The Eldense project suggests how he sees his post-playing future: not on a beach, but in boardrooms and academies, building clubs the way he once built attacks.

What happens next

The immediate priority is the CSD approval, which should arrive in the coming weeks. On the pitch, Eldense need a new coach and, more urgently, points — the relegation zone is already looming after seven games.

Messi's first decisions as owner will be watched closely in Spain: who he appoints in the dugout, whether January brings investment in the squad, and how hands-on the most famous footballer on the planet intends to be with a second-division club fighting for survival.

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