The final questions have now been answered: Lionel Messi will be at the helm of Spanish second-tier club CD Eldense from now on. The club announced this on Thursday, thereby marking the start of a ‘new and exciting chapter’.
The words with which Eldense has heralded its new era are not exactly understated – yet they do not come across as overly grandiose either. Whilst the Spanish second-tier club emphasised in a statement that Messi is “one of the most significant figures in sporting history”, it refrained from making grandiose announcements. No pithy phrases, no grand visions. After all, the signing of Messi is spectacular enough in itself.
As the club made clear, the arrival of the 39-year-old marks the start of “a long-term project designed to drive forward the sporting, institutional and social development of CD Eldense”. The club had previously been in the second tier in the 1950s and 1960s, but it was not until the 2023/24 season – after exactly six decades in the lower leagues – that it returned to the Spanish second tier. Eldense immediately bounced back from their relegation in 2025, and now, under Messi’s leadership, the aim is also to “consolidate and expand the club’s position in professional football whilst expressing its roots, its history and its blue-and-red spirit”.
Messi already owns fifth-tier side UE Cornella
Elda has a population of around 55,000 and is situated in south-eastern Spain, some 140 kilometres south of Valencia. It is there that Messi will henceforth be at the helm, following the acquisition of the shares previously held by the Colombian business group TH Soluciones. In doing so, he is also likely to have to lay the groundwork.
For Messi, Eldense is already the second club where he sets the direction as owner. The 2022 World Cup winner, who has since retired from the Argentine national team, also owns fifth-tier side UE Cornella. In Major League Soccer, Messi is currently playing his fourth season with Inter Miami.
