Lionel Messi Set to Acquire CD Eldense Football Club
Lionel Messi is set to step even deeper into football ownership, with reports in Spain claiming he has reached an agreement in principle to complete a full takeover of CD Eldense.
According to Marca, the Inter Miami star is poised to acquire 100 per cent of the Segunda Division club’s shares, with no third-party partners involved. The deal hinges on the completion of the due diligence process and now sits on the desk of Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD), which is expected to formally ratify the transaction in the coming days.
A quiet provincial club, a global superstar
Eldense, based in Elda in the province of Alicante, has spent recent years far from the global spotlight Messi usually commands. The club is currently in the Spanish second tier, fighting for stability rather than headlines.
Ownership has already changed hands once in the recent past. An international investment group led by businessman Juan Carlos Trujillo took control after buying the club from Pascual Perez in October 2025. That project now looks set to give way to one fronted by the most famous footballer on the planet.
The sale was not a one-horse race. Argentine investor Ricardo Pini had lodged a €12 million proposal and was in the frame to take charge. Then Messi appeared on the scene. His sudden intervention swung the talks decisively, pushing him to the front of the queue to become owner of the Elda side, located within reach of Catalonia and Spain’s major footballing hubs.
Building a football empire
This move is no isolated venture. It slots neatly into a rapidly expanding Messi family portfolio.
Earlier this year, the family completed the acquisition of UE Cornella, a club competing in the Spanish fifth tier. That purchase was widely viewed as a first concrete step into the governance side of the game in Spain, a testing ground for structure, scouting, and youth development under the Messi banner.
Beyond Spain, the Argentina captain has joined forces with close friend Luis Suarez to buy Uruguayan outfit Deportivo LSM, extending their reach into South American football. The network doesn’t stop there: the family’s influence also stretches to Lions FC, where Messi’s brother Matias serves as club president, underlining a clear, deliberate push into multi-club ownership and long-term football projects.
Eldense would immediately become the most high-profile piece of that puzzle. A Segunda Division club offers a pathway towards La Liga, a bigger stage, and a more demanding competitive environment than anything else currently in the Messi portfolio.
Turbulence on the pitch
The timing of the takeover is striking because Eldense are anything but settled on the field.
The club recently parted ways with head coach Claudio Barragan after a miserable start to the campaign: just two points from their opening four fixtures. That return has dragged them into early trouble in the Segunda Division table and triggered alarm at boardroom level.
With Barragan gone, the hierarchy is scrambling for a replacement capable of steadying results and restoring belief in the dressing room. Every dropped point tightens the pressure. Every delay in appointing a new coach risks deepening the slide.
Messi’s expected arrival as majority shareholder should at least change the financial and strategic landscape. Fresh capital, global visibility, and a clear long-term plan could transform Eldense’s outlook, both in recruitment and infrastructure. The club will suddenly be able to sell a different story to potential coaches and players: a modest Alicante side backed by one of the greatest footballers in history.
The paperwork still needs the CSD’s stamp. Once that comes, the question will be simple and unforgiving: can Messi’s vision off the pitch lift Eldense fast enough to match the size of his name?
