Lionel Messi set to become owner of Spanish club CD Eldense

Lionel Messi is reportedly close to buying CD Eldense, the second-tier Spanish club based near Alicante, in what would make it the Argentina great’s second ownership interest in Spain after UE Cornella.

According to several media reports, including French newspaper L’Equipe, Messi is expected to acquire Eldense, who play their home matches at the Nuevo Pepico Amat stadium.

The club, founded in 1921 by a group of Barcelona supporters, is based in Elda, around 40 kilometres from Alicante city. It is the oldest football club in Alicante province, but has never played in La Liga during its more than 100-year history.

Eldense’s first match was played on 1 November 1921, All Saints’ Day, against local side Elda FC. The newly formed club wore Barcelona’s colours for that game, with black shorts added to distinguish the teams.

The connection with Barcelona remains visible in Eldense’s badge. The founders were supporters of the Catalan club and belonged to a group known by the nickname “the stubborn ones”. They could not have imagined that decades later one of the greatest players in Barcelona’s history might become the owner of the team they established.

A club with a turbulent recent history

One of the most controversial moments in Eldense’s recent history came on 1 April 2017, when they suffered a 12-0 defeat by Barcelona B in Segunda Division B. The result was a record score for Barcelona B and was followed by Eldense’s immediate relegation to the fourth tier.

Two days later, one Eldense player accused four team-mates of deliberately losing by such a wide margin. He called for an investigation into possible match-fixing linked to illegal Asian betting networks.

Authorities subsequently arrested five people, including Italian manager Filippo Di Pierro, who had taken charge only three months earlier. His appointment followed the takeover of Eldense by an Italian investment group, amid suspicions that it had links to the Calabrian mafia.

Four other matches from the same season were also investigated for alleged manipulation. However, all those accused were acquitted at the end of the trial in February 2026.

Eldense returned to Spain’s second tier on 25 June 2023 after securing three successive promotions, ending a 59-year absence from the division.

Their promotion was achieved after a dramatic play-off final against Real Madrid Castilla. The first leg ended 1-1, while the return finished 3-3 after extra time. Eldense won promotion because they had finished higher in the regular-season standings.

The club was relegated in 2025 after finishing 16th and then 19th in their first two seasons back at that level. They returned immediately to the Segunda Division in the spring of 2026, making the current campaign their eighth participation in Spain’s second tier.

Financial rescue and the Pepico Amat stadium

Eldense came close to bankruptcy in December 2019 before local businessman Pascual Perez, supported by other members of Elda’s business community, stepped in to save the club.

At the start of 2020, Perez, who was then both president and owner, paid a €200,000 tax debt that had posed a direct threat to Eldense’s future. The appointment of Manu Gi as sporting director also helped put the club on a path towards recovery. Gi currently holds the same role at Tenerife.

The club’s stadium is named after former goalkeeper Pepico Amat, who spent several seasons with Eldense and also played in La Liga for Hercules and Espanyol.

After ending his playing career, Amat worked as a coach in both football and basketball, another sport with a strong following in Elda.

The current Nuevo Pepico Amat replaced the former ground in 2012 and has a capacity of 5,576, according to L’Equipe.