Overview
- Multiple Spanish and international outlets reported a preliminary agreement on Tuesday for Lionel Messi to acquire 100% of CD Eldense from Grupo TH, a deal the mayor of Elda confirmed to local press.
- The sale is not final because buyers and sellers are conducting an exhaustive financial and legal due diligence review and the transfer requires formal authorization from Spain’s sports regulator, the Consejo Superior de Deportes.
- Sporting changes have already begun at the club: Eldense dismissed coach Claudio Barragán after the reported takeover talks and is searching for a new manager while the club’s sporting directors present options to the incoming owners.
- This move would expand Messi’s club portfolio in Spain and abroad—he owns UE Cornellà and has stakes in clubs in Uruguay and Argentina—while Spanish multiproperty rules allow dual ownership only so long as both teams do not compete in the same professional division.
- If completed, the deal is likely to raise Eldense’s international profile and local investment in facilities and youth development, though immediate effects will depend on the outcomes of the audits, regulatory sign-off, and the new owner’s planned management decisions.