How Much Did Lionel Messi Spend To Buy La Liga 2 Club CD Eldense?

Lionel Messi's story with Spanish football was written at Camp Nou, where he spent 17 years turning into the greatest footballer of his generation before moving to Paris Saint-Germain and subsequently, Inter Miami. The umbilical connection to Spain, however, for the great Argentine has never been broken, and now it's set to take a new form as Messi is set to buy CD Eldense, a La Liga 2 club, marking his second venture in the depth of talent of Spanish football, previously acquiring UE Cornellà back in April.

It is a move that lines up perfectly with what Messi has said for years about his life after retirement. His staunch decision to opt out of any coaching role, insisting he'd rather build a club "from the bottom" than manage one from the touchline, seems easier to perceive gradually. This is a mark of changing times, especially after he announced his retirement from the Argentina national football team, following a World Cup final loss to Spain, signalling the dawn of the greatest star the world has ever witnessed, after he had already graced his home country with a symbolic star on their jersey owing to a magnificent effort in 2022.

This makes the bigger picture clearer, as the GOAT isn't stepping away from football; he's just switching seats, from the pitch to the boardroom. Find out about Lionel Messi CD Eldense acquisition and how it happened.

Messi's Reign From Cornellà To Eldense

This isn't Messi's first rodeo as a club owner, as in April, he completed a deal for UE Cornellà, a Catalan side in the fifth-tier Tercera Federación, reportedly for around €2 million. The headline of 'Lionel Messi buys CD Eldense' was widely seen as a low-key toe in the water, considering the local project is close to his Barcelona roots. Eldense, however, is a much bigger step up, due to being a professional Segunda División side, two divisions below La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football, with real stakes, real revenue, and a real fanbase behind it, marking his first ownership stake inside the league pyramid.

So, How Much Did Messi Actually Pay?

Although no credible source has confirmed a number yet, the Spanish outlets Diario AS and Marca broke the news that Messi's camp reached an agreement in principle with TH Soluciones Group, the Colombian firm that owned Eldense, to acquire 100 per cent of the club with no partners involved. The deal still needs to clear due diligence and get the go-ahead from Spain's High Council for Sports (CSD) before anything is official. If an estimate is to be made from Messi's previous acquisition of Cornellà for a reported figure of €2 million. The price tag for the fifth-tier club is expected to be meagre considering the status quo of Eldense.

Meet Eldense: Messi's New Project in Alicante

Based in Elda and playing out of the 5,800-capacity Nuevo Pepico Amat, Eldense have climbed three promotions since 2021 to reach the Segunda División, where they've built a loyal base of around 3,500 season-ticket holders. It's exactly the kind of modest, buildable project one of the greatest footballers of all time, Lionel Messi has said he's drawn to, that is, a club with room to grow rather than one that's already arrived. Reports suggest most of Eldense's own staff had no idea about Lionel Messi was the incoming owner until the story broke, which surely was a surprise of a lifetime for the officials.

What This Means For The GOAT's Growing Empire

Between Cornellà, Eldense, and his existing stake in Uruguay's Deportivo LSM alongside Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi owner is quietly assembling a football ownership portfolio across three continents, hopefully years before he's expected to hang up his boots at Inter Miami, where he's contracted through 2028.