Lionel Messi Set to Own CD Eldense: A New Chapter in Football

Lionel Messi is set to become the outright owner of CD Eldense, stepping into the boardroom with the same certainty he once showed in front of goal.

According to Marca, the Inter Miami forward has reached an agreement in principle to buy 100 per cent of the Spanish Segunda Division club’s shares, with no third-party partners involved. The deal hinges on the completion of due diligence and a final green light from Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD), expected in the coming days. Once that ratification lands, Eldense will effectively become Messi’s club.

From investment vehicle to Messi project

Eldense, based in Alicante, has already lived through one major ownership shift this decade. An international investment group led by businessman Juan Carlos Trujillo took control after buying the club from Pascual Perez in October 2025, turning the modest side into a more structured project with external capital at the wheel.

That model now stands on the brink of being swept aside. Argentine investor Ricardo Pini had recently moved to the front of the queue with a proposed €12 million offer, and negotiations were progressing around his bid. Then Messi entered the picture.

His sudden appearance changed the landscape instantly. Talks pivoted, Pini’s interest receded into the background, and Eldense’s future began to align with the plans of the Argentina captain. The club from Elda, a city tucked in the province of Alicante and not far from Catalonia’s football heartlands, is now on course to become a key pillar in the Messi family’s growing empire.

A growing football portfolio

This is no one-off vanity purchase. It’s part of a clear, deliberate strategy.

Earlier this year, the Messi family completed the acquisition of UE Cornella, a Spanish fifth-tier side with a reputation for developing young talent. That move was read as a first step into the world of club ownership in Spain, a testing ground.

Now comes Eldense, a team already operating in the professional ranks of the Segunda Division. It offers a different scale, a different pressure, and a different platform.

The portfolio stretches well beyond Spain. Messi has joined forces with close friend Luis Suarez to buy Uruguayan outfit Deportivo LSM, anchoring their influence in South American football. The family’s reach also extends to Lions FC, where his brother Matias serves as club president, adding another layer of governance experience to the group around him.

Bit by bit, the Messis are building a network that touches multiple levels of the game: development clubs, professional sides, and international projects. Eldense slots neatly into that structure.

Turmoil on the pitch, change at the top

While the paperwork inches toward completion, life on the pitch has been far less controlled.

Eldense started their Segunda Division campaign in dismal fashion, collecting just two points from their opening four fixtures. That run cost head coach Claudio Barragan his job, leaving the dugout empty at a time when the club can least afford drift.

The hierarchy, already under scrutiny for results, must now juggle a coaching search with the arrival of a new owner. The pressure is real. They need a manager who can stabilise performances and drag the team away from the lower reaches of the table, all while aligning with the vision that Messi and his circle are expected to impose.

That is where this takeover could bite hardest, and fastest. Fresh capital and a clear long-term strategy should give Eldense a stronger footing in the division, both financially and structurally. Recruitment, facilities, youth development – all of it stands to be reshaped by one of the most influential figures the sport has ever seen.

The question now is not whether Messi will own CD Eldense. It is what kind of club he intends to build once his name is on the door.