Messi buys Eldense: why multi-club ownership with UE Cornellà forces him to give up control of one of the two clubs

Leo Messi is about to become the new owner of Club Deportivo Eldense, the side currently competing in the Spanish Segunda División. The purchase of 100% of the Alicante club reignites a legal debate that has been simmering in Spanish football for some time: how far multi-club ownership can go and what options remain for an investor who already controls another team. The Argentine star has held a majority stake in UE Cornellà since April, around 85% of the share capital, and that dual position has put sports law specialists on alert.

• Messi will take over 100% of CD Eldense, in the Segunda División, within hours.
• He has controlled roughly 85% of UE Cornellà since April.
• The reserve teams of both clubs compete in the same division, Tercera Federación, albeit in different geographical groups.
• The Sports Law and the Royal Decree on sports limited companies restrict simultaneous voting rights in clubs within the same sport.
• Experts argue dual ownership is possible, but it requires giving up the political rights of one of the two clubs.

What Spanish law says about multi-club ownership

Lawyers Fede Segura and Guillem Navarro, sports law specialists at RocaJunyent, have analysed the deal and dismissed the argument that much of the legal opinion had used until now. The prevailing view was that dual ownership would be legal because Eldense and UE Cornellà do not share a division. For these lawyers, that reasoning collapses on its own: the reserve teams of both clubs do play in the same league, Tercera Federación, and could meet in a potential promotion playoff.

However, the specialists point out that the decisive factor is not the division in which the first teams play. What matters is what the Sports Law and the Royal Decree on sports limited companies establish. The rule is clear: no shareholder may hold a stake equal to or greater than 5% of the voting rights in one sports limited company and, at the same time, an equivalent percentage in another company competing in the same sport, even if they do so in different divisions.

The direct acquisition of 100% of the voting rights of CD Eldense would not be compatible with current legislation if he keeps that percentage in UE Cornellà, regardless of whether they currently compete in different divisions or groups.

The difference between owning a club and controlling it: the crux of the Messi case

RocaJunyent's analysis opens a path for the footballer to avoid having to get rid of either club. The key is to distinguish between the economic ownership of a team and the percentage of voting rights attached to it. Spanish law does not ban a person from holding financial interests in two clubs; what it restricts is simultaneous participation in their voting rights.

Applied to this case, Messi could keep 100% of Eldense's capital and maintain his majority position in UE Cornellà as long as the distribution of those rights respects the legal limits and the criteria of the Consejo Superior de Deportes. The solution lies in a finely tuned corporate structure that allows him to retain ownership of both without politically controlling the two at the same time.

The corporate move Messi's advisors must now design

The lawyers explain that the operation requires an imaginative solution from the boardroom, mirroring the creativity Messi himself displays on the pitch. The footballer could buy 100% of CD Eldense and keep majority ownership of UE Cornellà, but he would have to renounce the political rights of one of the two clubs. That means giving up the voice and vote in the management and administration of the entity.

Who cannot receive those political rights

The restriction does not end there. Those political rights cannot be transferred to a natural or legal person linked to Messi, nor to the company controlled by him that acquires the clubs, nor to anyone acting on behalf of the Argentine player. In practice, the star could not hand them over to a direct family member or one of his trusted advisors. The CSD will be watching to ensure there is no indirect control through front men or interposed vehicles.

The Cádiz-Granada precedent that points the way

The lawyers recall that this interpretation already has a precedent in Spanish football. In 2014, the Consejo Superior de Deportes denied the purchase of Cádiz CF shares by a company linked to the family of Granada CF's then president. The body found that the aim was to gain simultaneous control of two clubs within the same sport through an interposed family vehicle.

The parallel with the Messi case is direct. At that time, Granada's reserve team competed in the same division as Cádiz, exactly the scenario that would be repeated between Eldense's reserve side and UE Cornellà, who could face each other in a promotion playoff. If Messi were to replicate that model of indirect control, the CSD would have solid grounds to block the operation.

What could happen with the Eldense purchase and what comes next

The experts' conclusion is blunt: Messi can become the simultaneous owner of CD Eldense and UE Cornellà without selling either of them. The non-negotiable condition is to give up the management and control of one of the two, without transferring those political rights to relatives or people in his inner circle. Otherwise, the Consejo Superior de Deportes could deny the purchase.

The legal advisors of the world champion now face the task of designing a structure that can fit the operation within the regulatory limits. At stake is not only the viability of the Eldense purchase, but also Messi's own legal reputation as an investor in Spanish football. A new dribble, this time in the boardroom, will define the immediate future of both clubs.