Lionel Messi is closing in on a deal to acquire Spanish second-division club CD Eldense, further strengthening his ties with the country’s football landscape years after leaving Barcelona.
According to ESPN, the Argentine superstar has reached a preliminary agreement over the transfer of ownership of Eldense. The deal, however, is yet to be finalised and remains subject to an internal financial audit, legal due diligence and final approval from Spain’s National Sports Council.
If completed, the acquisition would make Eldense the second Spanish football club owned by Messi. Earlier this year, the Inter Miami star acquired UC Cornellà, a semi-professional club competing in Spain’s fifth tier.
While Cornellà operates at the semi-professional level, Eldense would become Messi’s first fully professional Spanish football club under his ownership.
Messi also has a minority stake in Uruguayan club Deportivo LSM, which he co-owns with longtime Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez.
Founded in 1921, Eldense is currently owned by Colombian-based investment group Grupo TH. The club returned to Spain’s second tier in 2023 for the first time since 1946, but was relegated two years later before earning promotion back to the division this season.
For now, Messi’s ownership of two Spanish clubs does not pose an immediate regulatory issue. Cornellà compete in the fifth tier, while Eldense play in the second tier, leaving a three-division gap between them.
However, Spain’s football regulations could create complications if the two clubs were ever promoted into the same division. Under the Royal Spanish Football Federation’s ownership rules, common ownership of clubs competing in the same tier could trigger a conflict-of-interest issue.
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