Lionel Messi bought a Spanish football club — Marca

1 hour ago

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winning Argentinian forward Lionel Messi has reached an agreement to purchase 100 percent of the shares of the Spanish second division (Segunda) football club "Eldense".

This is the second purchase related to football clubs for the Argentinian forward during 2026. Earlier in April of this year, he also bought the Catalan club "Cornella", located in the Baix Llobregat area of the Barcelona province. The source added that after completing his career at "Inter Miami", Messi plans to reside permanently in the city of Elda in the Alicante province, where the base of the "Eldense" club is located.

For information, Messi has been defending the honors of the US team "Inter Miami" since 2023. He won the MLS championship with his team in 2025. In October 2025, the Argentinian star extended his current contract with the American club until the end of 2028.

On August 31 of this year, Messi officially announced the end of his career with the Argentina national team. The forward achieved a number of major accomplishments during his career. He became the winner of the 2022 World Cup with the Argentina national team, and reached the final in the 2026 World Cup. The football player is also a gold medalist of the 2008 Olympic Games, a two-time winner of the Copa America (2021 and 2024), and the winner of the 2022 Finalissima.

The forward has also recorded outstanding results in terms of personal records. In particular, Messi set an absolute record by winning the "Ballon d'Or" 8 times. In addition, he was named the FIFA World Player of the Year 3 times, won the "Golden Shoe" 6 times as the top scorer in European championships, and was awarded the World Cup "Golden Ball" 2 times.