Lionel Messi acquires Spanish second-division club CD Eldense after buying UE Cornellà

Terms of the acquisition and regulatory approval

Lionel Messi completed the acquisition of Spanish second-tier football club CD Eldense on 1 October 2026, becoming the majority owner. The 39-year-old forward agreed to purchase all club shares previously held by a Colombian investment group, following an agreement in principle reached on 8 September 2026. The transaction remains subject to mandatory authorization from Spain's Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), in accordance with the regulatory framework outlined in the national Sports Law (Ley del Deporte). CD Eldense confirmed the transaction on its official website, stating that the acquisition begins a new phase for the organization, which was established in 1921.

The arrival in Spanish professional football as owner of CD Eldense of one of the most important figures in the history of sport marks the beginning of a project with a long-term vision and with the objective of promoting the sporting, institutional, and social development of CD Eldense.

Competitive record and background of CD Eldense

CD Eldense currently competes in LaLiga Hypermotion, the second tier of the Spanish league pyramid, where the team sits in 19th position and faces an early battle to avoid relegation. Under head coach Javi Calleja, the squad has collected five points from 21 possible points across the opening seven rounds of the season, recording four defeats. The team plays its home fixtures at the Pepico Amat stadium in Elda, an Alicante province municipality. The 2026 campaign represents Eldense's eighth season in the Segunda División; the club previously spent five seasons in the division across the 1950s and 1960s before earning promotion back to the division in 2023.

Spanish holdings and the UE Cornellà purchase

The acquisition of CD Eldense is Messi's second purchase of a Spanish football club during 2026. On 16 April 2026, Messi completed the takeover of Catalan club UE Cornellà, an outfit competing in the Tercera RFEF. That fifth-tier league sits three divisions below CD Eldense in the Spanish football pyramid. With the Eldense purchase, Messi enters the ownership ranks of Spanish professional football while continuing his active playing career with Inter Miami CF in the United States. Eldense leadership stated that the club aims to build on this ownership change while preserving its traditional blue and red identity.

Founded in 1921, CD Eldense faces this new stage with the ambition to consolidate and grow in professional football, while projecting its roots, history, and azulgrana sentiment.

Global investment portfolio and international retirement

CD Eldense becomes the sixth football club in which Messi has acquired an ownership stake. His global investment portfolio includes equity in his current employer Inter Miami CF, alongside a shareholding in FC Andorra, a club connected to former Barcelona teammate Gerard Piqué. Messi also holds ownership stakes in Uruguayan club Deportivo LSM and Argentine side Leones de Rosario. The ownership expansion in Spain coincides with the concluding stage of Messi's international playing career, as the forward is scheduled to play his final match for the Argentina national team on 7 October 2026.