Lionel Messi has bought Spanish second-division club CD Eldense, with the Alicante side announcing on October 1, 2026 that the 39-year-old Argentina and Inter Miami forward has completed the acquisition and will become its majority owner. The move makes Eldense the second Spanish club Messi has taken over in 2026, following his purchase of Catalan side UE Cornellà in April.
What CD Eldense announced
In an official statement published on October 1, the club said: "Club Deportivo Eldense officially announces the acquisition of the entity by Leo Messi, beginning a new and exciting stage in the more than one hundred years of history of the institution." Founded in 1921 and based in Elda in the province of Alicante, Eldense compete in Spain's Segunda División — the country's second tier, also known as LaLiga Hypermotion.
The club said Messi's arrival marks the start of a long-term project aimed at boosting the sporting, institutional and social development of Eldense, with the ambition of consolidating and growing in professional football while preserving the roots, history and blue-and-red identity of the century-old institution.
The deal: Grupo TH Soluciones shares, CSD approval pending
Messi is acquiring the shares previously held by Colombian investment group TH Soluciones, the club's previous majority shareholder, which had taken control of Eldense in October 2025. The financial terms of the transaction have not been publicly disclosed.
The takeover had initially been reported as an agreement in principle in September 2026, with the BBC and Spanish outlets covering the preliminary deal. Eldense's October 1 announcement formally confirmed the acquisition — but with one important qualifier: the transaction remains subject to the required authorisation from Spain's Higher Sports Council (Consejo Superior de Deportes, CSD) under the country's Sports Law. Until the CSD grants its licence, the deal is not formally complete.
A second Spanish club after UE CornellÃ
Eldense is Messi's second investment in Spanish football this year. In April 2026 he acquired UE Cornellà , a Catalan club competing in Spain's lower divisions. The Eldense move is a step up: a professional second-tier club one division below La Liga, rather than a development project in the semi-professional game.
It also puts Messi among a growing group of high-profile active footballers building ownership portfolios while still playing. The 39-year-old remains an Inter Miami forward in Major League Soccer, with his MLS contract running through the end of 2028.
The sporting backdrop: a 4-1 statement win
The timing could hardly have been better. Eldense sat 19th in the 22-team Segunda División at the time of the announcement, with just five points from seven matches and one win, fighting to avoid relegation.
Then, a day after the takeover was announced, Eldense came from behind to beat Real Oviedo 4–1 at home. Alberto Reina put Oviedo ahead after just 21 seconds, but the hosts turned the game around after the break through goals from Roberto López, Fidel, Aingeru Olabarrieta and Jorge Rastrojo. It was Eldense's first home win of the season and moved the club out of the relegation zone.
Messi, in Argentina ahead of his farewell appearance for the national team, could not be physically present — but watched the comeback win on his laptop. It was exactly the kind of opening chapter a new owner would script for himself.
The takeaway: Messi's Spanish football empire now stretches from the lower divisions to the doorstep of La Liga. Whether Eldense can turn a new owner's star power into lasting sporting and institutional growth will decide if this becomes the defining second act of his post-Barcelona Spanish story — but with CSD approval still pending, the deal's final chapter isn't written yet.
📺 Watch: WION Newspoint reports on Lionel Messi's agreement to take over Spanish second-division club CD Eldense