Argentina and Barcelona legend Lionel Messi is a new owner of La Liga 2 club CD Eldense after buying 100 percent of the shares.
The transfer of the ownership from the previous owners to Messi was completed following legal and contractual procedures.
This is the second club that Messi owns after Catalunya outfit UD Cornella which play in the lower division of Spanish football.
CD Eldense’s previous owner Juan Carlos Trujillo wanted to sell the club for €12 million (R223 million), and Messi did not hesitate as he matched the asking price.
According to Forbes, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has a net worth $1.1 billion (R17.59 billion), meaning he wouldn’t have had problems buying the Spanish club.
Messi, though, will have to sit down with his staff to find a new manager following the sacking of Claudio Barragan on Monday.
Under Barragan, CD Eldense collected just two points in their opening four Segunda Division matches this season.
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LIONEL MESSI BUYS LA LIGA 2 SIDE CD ELDENSE
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FROM A PLAYER TO AN OWNER…
Messi followed in the footsteps of his Inter Miami boss David Beckham who took the same route after retiring from football.
While the 39-year-old attacker is still active, he announced his retirement from international a few weeks ago.
This means he will no longer wear the Argentina shirt as a player again unless he changes his mind in the near future.