Lionel Messi Set to Own CD Eldense as Club Boss
Lionel Messi is set to become the outright owner of CD Eldense, stepping into Spanish football not as a player, but as a club boss.
According to Marca, the Inter Miami star has reached an agreement in principle to buy 100 per cent of the Segunda Division side’s shares, with no outside partners involved. The deal is now in the hands of Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD), which is expected to formally ratify the takeover in the coming days once the due diligence process is wrapped up.
From investment fund to Messi control
Eldense, based in Alicante, has changed hands before. An international investment group led by businessman Juan Carlos Trujillo took control after buying the club from Pascual Perez in October 2025. That structure looked set to evolve again when Argentine investor Ricardo Pini arrived with a proposed €12 million offer.
Then Messi entered the picture.
His late move into negotiations has effectively blown Pini’s bid out of the water and put him on course to take command of the Elda club, located in the Valencian Community and within reach of Catalonia. Once the CSD signs off, Eldense will shift from investment-fund ownership to the direct control of one of the game’s greatest players.
A growing Messi football empire
This is no isolated venture. The Eldense deal is the latest piece in a rapidly expanding Messi family portfolio.
Earlier this year, the family acquired UE Cornella, a club competing in Spain’s fifth tier, giving them a foothold in the country’s lower leagues and a platform for player development. Messi has also teamed up with long-time friend Luis Suarez to buy Uruguayan side Deportivo LSM, extending their reach into South American football.
The network doesn’t stop there. Lions FC, where Messi’s brother Matias serves as club president, further underlines the family’s deepening role in football governance. Eldense would add a fully professional, second-tier Spanish club to that structure, creating a ladder that stretches from grassroots and semi-professional levels up to a competitive Segunda Division outfit.
Turbulence on the pitch
While the boardroom prepares for a seismic change, life on the pitch has been anything but stable.
Eldense have endured a poor start to the season, taking just two points from their first four league matches. That run cost head coach Claudio Barragan his job, leaving the club scrambling for a replacement at a time when results are already under scrutiny.
The pressure is real. The Segunda Division is unforgiving, and a slow start can quickly turn into a relegation fight. The hierarchy now faces a double challenge: steering the club through a takeover and finding a coach capable of dragging the team up the table.
Messi’s imminent arrival as majority shareholder should at least settle one side of that equation. Fresh capital, a defined long-term plan and the weight of his name are expected to give Eldense firmer financial ground and a clearer strategic direction.
What happens next on the touchline – and in the league standings – will show just how quickly his influence can turn ownership ambition into on-field authority.
