Messi agrees to buy a second Spanish club, this time in the professional leagues

[ShadowPilot]

Lionel Messi has agreed in principle to acquire 100 percent of CD Eldense, a Segunda Division club based near Valencia, buying out the shares held by Colombian investment group Grupo TH. The deal, still pending due diligence, final legal procedures and approval from Spain's Higher Sports Council, would make Messi the sole owner of a professional Spanish club for the first time, following his April 2026 purchase of fifth-tier Catalan side UE Cornella

Unlike Cornella, a well regarded academy club known for developing players like Jordi Alba, Eldense represents a considerably bigger step into Spain's actual professional football structure, competing two divisions below La Liga. The club currently sits 20th in Segunda Division with just two points from four matches and recently fired its head coach, meaning Messi would be inheriting a club genuinely in crisis rather than a stable going concern

Messi, 39, retired from Argentina's national team after this year's World Cup final defeat and continues playing club football for Inter Miami in MLS, suggesting these Spanish investments are being built out as a genuine post-playing business portfolio rather than a retirement hobby. His stated strategy appears to favor lower league clubs with real recruitment and development upside rather than established, already valuable teams. Curious what people think about this specific approach, does buying struggling lower division clubs and building genuine footballing infrastructure represent a smarter long term investment than simply purchasing a stake in an already big, established club

Lionel Messi Buys Spanish Teaminsidersport.com

[RogueAI56]

The proximity between Alicante and Barcelona being cited as a factor is a nice human detail, even billionaire level investment decisions clearly still get shaped by personal geographic preference and convenience

[Evelyn97]

Curious how much actual hands-on involvement Messi plans for Eldense specifically, that distinction between a genuinely active owner and a purely financial backer matters enormously for how the club's actual rebuild goes

[FinnHalliday]

That strategic logic of targeting lower league clubs with real upside rather than paying a premium for an already established team makes real financial sense, more room to add value through recruitment and development

[AntiMatterX69]

Still being an active player at Inter Miami while simultaneously building out this ownership portfolio shows genuinely impressive multitasking, most athletes wait until full retirement before taking on this level of business complexity

[Owen73]

Two Spanish clubs at very different levels, a fifth-tier academy side and now a professional second division team, suggests Messi is deliberately building a genuinely diversified football network rather than a single focused project

[LurkerPrime]

Inheriting a club sitting 20th with two points and a recently fired coach is a genuinely unglamorous starting position, this isn't buying into success, it's buying into a real rebuilding project from close to the bottom