Messi's new Eldense: new coach, major growth... and a visit to Elda

The first thing that must be said about Leo Messi's "new" Eldense is that, legally, it still cannot be spoken of as new ownership, since the "due diligence" process (purchase audits) will take a couple of weeks before the entity changes owner and is officially considered the first professional club to have Messi as its top and sole shareholder, owning one hundred percent.

But why has Leo chosen this modest club from a small town in Alicante called Elda with barely 55,000 inhabitants? The decision to buy Eldense has been solely and exclusively that of the Argentine star, who knows the club and its circumstances perfectly. No third parties or other football stars, as has been rumored, have been involved.

Eldense is a small team, yes, but with a lot of potential for growth in professional footbal l. LM's idea is, first, to keep the team in the Segunda División, something that will not be easy since the Alicante-based team currently has two points in the first four matchdays, a situation for which coach Claudio Barragán was dismissed last Monday. There is still no new manager.

The first important decision for Messi and his people will be that, appointing a new coach, since even though officially it is not yet his club , he expects to take control of it in the coming days.

Leo's decisions will fill all areas of a club that has a small stadium, the Nuevo Pepico Amat, in the city center, as well as its training center. A venue with room to grow as well in the coming years if everything is consolidated.

Since MARCA announced this possible purchase, Eldense and the city of Elda have "taken off" across all the world's media and social networks. Messi has put Elda in the global spotlight, and the town's mayor himself thanked him for it this Wednesday. The city leader, Rubén Alfaro, expressed his "satisfaction" and called for "respect" for the confidentiality of the process, highlighting the preliminary agreement under which Lionel Messi would buy Club Deportivo Eldense "on his own."

Of course, the Argentine star plans to visit the city and the team as soon as his obligations with Inter Miami allow him to , since, as we should remember, the MLS is currently in full swing and will run until early December. That is when Leo’s visit could take place... if there is no surprise beforehand, which no one is ruling out.