Lionel Messi has reached an agreement in principle to purchase CD Eldense, the Segunda División club from Elda in Alicante province, according to Marca, which first reported the deal.
The agreement covers 100 per cent of the club's shares. According to reports in Spain, Messi would buy directly and alone, without partners, an investment vehicle or other former players involved. Two conditions remain outstanding: the completion of due diligence, and authorization from the Consejo Superior de Deportes, Spain's national sports council.
Who is selling
Eldense are currently controlled by the Colombian TH group, whose visible figures are president Carolina Holguín and chief executive Juan Carlos Trujillo. They took over from local businessman Pascual Pérez roughly 11 months ago and, per reporting in Alicante, had been weighing a sale since the club's promotion to the Segunda División. The reported sale price is well above what the Colombian group paid.
The news landed cold in Elda. Local outlet Información reported that most of the club's own staff had no idea Messi was the incoming owner. Trujillo posted a short farewell to supporters on X.
What Eldense are
A modest operation. The Nuevo Pepico Amat holds around 5,800 and the club counts roughly 3,500 season-ticket holders, numbers that put Eldense at the smaller end of a division that also contains clubs with far deeper resources.
Not his first
Messi already owns Unión Esportiva Cornellà, in the Tercera Federación, and has a stake in Deportivo LSM, a third-tier project in Uruguay alongside Luis Suárez. Eldense would be a significant step up in scale and his first outright ownership of a professional club in Spain, the country where he spent 17 years at Barcelona before moving to Paris Saint-Germain and then Inter Miami.
What happens next
Nothing is signed. If due diligence clears and the CSD signs off, Spanish reports suggest an announcement could come within days. Until then, this is an agreement in principle, and agreements in principle in Spanish football have fallen over before.
