The Alicante club announced the acquisition on Thursday, describing Messi’s arrival as the beginning of a new chapter in its more than 100-year history. Eldense said the project is intended to have a long-term focus, with ambitions extending beyond results on the pitch.
“Eldense begins this new stage with the ambition of consolidating and growing in professional football, while projecting its roots, history and blue-and-red feeling,” the club said in its announcement.
Founded in 1921, Eldense sees the change of ownership as an opportunity to strengthen its sporting, institutional and social development while retaining the identity built over more than a century.
The club’s statement said Messi’s entry into Spanish professional football as the owner of Eldense “marks the beginning of a long-term project” designed to drive development across the organisation.
The acquisition is not yet fully complete from a regulatory perspective. Eldense confirmed that “the transaction is pending the required authorisation from the CSD under the terms established in the Sports Law”.
That means the Consejo Superior de Deportes must approve the transaction before Messi’s ownership can formally proceed. The issue is particularly relevant given that Messi also acquired UE Cornellà earlier this year, although the two clubs compete in different divisions.
The development makes Eldense the second Spanish club to come under Messi’s ownership in 2026. Reuters reported that the former Barcelona and Argentina star bought all the shares held by the club’s previous majority shareholder, a Colombian investment group.
Messi remains an active player with Inter Miami, but his move into club ownership in Spain has accelerated during 2026. His purchase of UE Cornellà earlier this year established a separate presence in the Spanish game before the Eldense deal was announced.
For Eldense, the immediate objective is to use the change at ownership level as the foundation for a broader project without distancing the club from its local history.
The club said its intention was to “project its roots, history and feeling blue-and-red” while pursuing growth in Spanish professional football.
The club is now preparing to turn the ownership change into a long-term project while awaiting the final regulatory step.