Lionel Messi Buys Majority Stake in Spanish Club CD Eldense, His Second This Year
The Inter Miami star's takeover of the struggling second-tier side still needs approval from Spain's sports council.
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File photo: Lionel Messi during New England Revolution vs Inter Miami on July 9, 2025. Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lionel Messi has become the majority owner of Spanish second-division club CD Eldense, the club said, pending authorisation from Spain's National Sports Council (CSD).
The deal makes Eldense the 39-year-old's second Spanish club of 2026, following his April purchase of UE Cornella in Barcelona, according to The Independent.
Club hails 'new stage'
"Club Deportivo Eldense officially announces the acquisition of the entity by Leo Messi, beginning a new and exciting stage in the more than 100 years of history of the institution," the club said in a statement, as quoted by The Independent.
The statement said "the arrival of one of the most important figures in the history of sport marks the beginning of a long-term project with the aim of boosting the sporting, institutional and social development of Eldense."
The club added: "The transaction is pending the required authorisation from the CSD under the terms established in sports law."
The Inter Miami forward struck an agreement last month to buy out the Colombian investment group that previously held a controlling stake, The Independent said.
Relegation fight
On the pitch, Messi inherits a team in trouble. Eldense, founded in 1921, have lost four of their opening seven games and are 19th in the second division, in the thick of the relegation battle.
The club said it faces the new stage "with the ambition to consolidate and grow in professional football."
Growing portfolio
Cornella was the first step; Eldense now gives Messi a foothold in Spain's professional tiers, in what the club frames as a long-term venture.
Sources: CD Eldense official statement; The Independent (with additional reporting by Reuters)
