Messi has reached an agreement to purchase a second Spanish club

Spanish second-division side Eldense has announced that Argentina great Lionel Messi has reached a “preliminary agreement” to become the club’s majority shareholder.

Eldense will be the second Spanish club in which Messi has invested, following his purchase of the Catalan side Cornella in April.

The 39-year-old former Barcelona forward is currently playing for Inter Miami and has recently retired from international football following Argentina's 1-0 defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.


Eldense announced: “A preliminary agreement has been established with Lionel Messi for the purchase of the shares presently held by Grupo TH Soluciones, which would position him as the club’s majority shareholder.”

The transaction is presently contingent upon the fulfillment of the outstanding legal and contractual procedures, which encompass the due diligence process, along with the necessary authorization from the Spanish National Sports Council (CSD).

The club located in Alicante has accumulated two points from four matches this season and, currently positioned 20th in La Liga 2, has severed ties with head coach Claudio Barragan earlier this week.

Cornella is currently competing in the fifth tier of Spanish football and, in April, stated that Messi’s ownership “reinforces his close ties to Barcelona and his commitment to the development of sport and local talent in Catalonia.”

BBC Sport has reached out to Messi for his thoughts.


At the age of 13, he departed from Argentina to Spain, and by 17, he made his first-team debut for Barcelona in October 2004.

He scored a club record of 672 goals in 778 games before departing for French club Paris St-Germain in 2021 and subsequently joined Major League Soccer side Inter Miami in the United States in 2023.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi’s former rival from Real Madrid, acquired a 25% stake in the Spanish club Almeria in February. He currently plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.