In the town of Elda, population barely 50,000, a football club founded more than a century ago has just acquired the most famous shareholder in the sport. CD Eldense announced this week that Lionel Messi has completed his takeover, pending regulatory approval, calling it the start of "a new and exciting chapter" in a history that stretches back over 100 years. For a club sitting 19th in Spain's 22-team second division, with just one win from seven matches this season, the timing could hardly feel more dramatic. This is not Messi's first move into Spanish club ownership.

The 39-year-old, who left Barcelona in 2021 after more than two decades at the club, bought Catalan side Cornellà in April. Eldense, based near Alicante on Spain's eastern coast, becomes his second investment, and it suggests a deliberate strategy rather than a passing hobby. While Messi continues to play for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, his business interests are quietly reshaping lower-league Spanish football, far from the glare of the Bernabéu or the Camp Nou. The deal closes a long process.

Messi reached a preliminary agreement to become Eldense's majority shareholder back in September, and the club says that arrangement has now been finalised. Eldense describe his arrival as the beginning of "a long-term project" aimed at developing the club across sporting, institutional and social lines, an ambitious vision for an institution currently fighting to avoid relegation trouble. Messi retired from international football in August, having already won the 2022 World Cup and collected eight Ballon d'Or trophies, more than any player in history. That résumé makes him an extraordinary patron for a club of Eldense's modest size.