Lionel Messi buys CD Eldense: What approval is still needed?

Lionel Messi has bought CD Eldense, a club in Spain’s second division, but the acquisition is not yet clear of regulatory review. Eldense announced the purchase on October 1, 2026, while stating that Spain’s Higher Sports Council, known as the CSD, must still authorize the transaction. The club is 19th after seven league matches, making its fight to avoid relegation the most immediate question for supporters.

What has Messi bought?

Eldense is a professional football club based in Elda, in Spain’s Alicante province. Founded in 1921, it is competing this season in LaLiga Hypermotion, the country’s second tier. The purchase gives Messi an ownership role in a Spanish professional club while he continues his playing career with Inter Miami.

The club’s announcement described the acquisition as the start of a long-term project spanning its sporting, institutional and community development. It did not set out a transfer budget, a timetable for investment or specific changes to the first-team squad. Nor did the announcement disclose a purchase price. Those omissions matter: confirmation of a buyer does not, by itself, establish how much money will be available to address the team’s position this season.

Messi already owns another Spanish club, UE Cornellà, which announced his acquisition in April 2026. Cornellà plays below the professional divisions. Eldense is therefore a different kind of investment: its league position, finances and ownership will be scrutinized within the framework governing professional competition.

Why does the deal still need approval?

Spain requires CSD authorization for an acquisition that gives a buyer a substantial stake in a professional sports company. Eldense explicitly says its transaction remains subject to that approval under the country’s sports law. The club’s description of Messi as its new owner should not be mistaken for an announcement that the regulatory step has been completed.

The CSD’s review is especially relevant because Messi also owns Cornellà. Spanish sports law contains restrictions concerning significant interests in more than one sports entity. Whether and how those provisions apply to the precise ownership structures is a matter for the regulator to assess, not something settled simply by the clubs playing in different divisions. Eldense has not announced a CSD decision or a date when authorization will be granted.

Approval would remove the stated regulatory condition on the purchase. Until then, supporters should distinguish the club’s announcement from final regulatory clearance. There is also no announced deadline for Messi to present a new sporting plan or make a particular level of investment.

What could change for Eldense?

The short-term problem is straightforward: Eldense has five points from seven matches, with one win, two draws and four defeats. Its 19th-place standing puts it in the relegation zone at this early stage of the 2026–27 season. A change of ownership cannot add points to that total; the team needs results on the pitch.

One significant football decision has already been made during the ownership transition. Eldense appointed Javi Calleja as head coach in September on a contract running to June 2028. That means the next phase is not simply a search for a new manager. Calleja’s task is to improve performances with the players available while the ownership process and any longer-term plans take shape.

Messi’s name could raise Eldense’s profile and help attract commercial interest, but neither outcome should be treated as a confirmed financial boost. Additional spending, recruitment or changes to the club’s operations would require decisions that Eldense has yet to announce. The club has framed the purchase as a long-term project; avoiding relegation is the pressing short-term objective.

Eldense is scheduled to host Real Oviedo on October 2. That fixture offers a more immediate measure of its prospects than speculation about future signings: for now, the club needs league points while it awaits the CSD’s decision.