"I found out about the Eldense thing through the media." That's La Liga president Javier Tebas admitting, without embarrassment, that he has no idea whether Lionel Messi has actually bought a Spanish second-division club or not. The man running Spanish football is reading the same rumours you are.
Reports have surfaced linking the Inter Miami forward with a takeover of Eldense, a modest Alicante-based side currently competing in Spain's Segunda Division. No official confirmation has come from Messi's camp or the club. Tebas, speaking at a Panini LaLiga EA Sports sticker album presentation on Wednesday, was asked directly — and essentially shrugged. "I don't know if it's like that or not, if Messi has bought it or not, if it's a group or him."
Ronaldo already beat him to it
If the deal does materialise, Messi wouldn't even be the first of football's great rivalry to park money in a Spanish club. Tebas pointed out that Cristiano Ronaldo already holds a 25% stake in Almería. The Portuguese got there first, as he'd probably want you to know.
"It is an honor that the two greatest players in world football from recent years are considering investing part of their savings into Spanish football," Tebas said. Diplomatic, if slightly convenient framing from a league president who would obviously love both names attached to his product.
For Eldense, the implications would be transformative. A Segunda Division club with Messi's name in the ownership structure doesn't stay quietly mid-table for long — commercial interest, transfer budget speculation, and global attention would arrive immediately. Their promotion odds would attract a whole new audience of curious punters overnight.
What this actually means right now
Not much, officially. The 39-year-old is still in MLS, still breaking records for Inter Miami, and his representatives haven't said a word. Eldense are focused on their current campaign. The whole story exists in the gap between rumour and confirmation.
But the fact that Tebas was asked about it at a sticker album launch, and gave a genuine "I don't know" rather than a firm denial, tells you something. Nobody's killed this story yet. That alone keeps it alive.
