Club Deportivo Eldense, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Elda, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1921, the club plays in the , and holds home matches at Estadio Municipal Nuevo Pepico Amat, which has a capacity of 4,036 spectators.

Lionel Messi subsequently acquired a 100% stake in the club from Colombian investment group TH Soluciones Group S.A.S.(Grupo TH) in September 2026.

History One of the oldest clubs in the Valencian Community, Eldense enrolled in the Valencian Football Federation in 1924, and started competing in Tercera División 19 years later. It first appeared in Segunda División in the 1956–57 season, narrowly avoiding relegation after finishing in 16th position; the first spell in that tier lasted three years, in a total of five at the professional level.

Match fixing allegations

On 4 April 2017, Eldense coach Filippo Vito di Pierro and general manager Nobile Capuani were arrested by Spanish authorities on charges of corruption. The detentions occurred after club president David Aguilar made complaints of match fixing following a 0–12 loss to Barcelona B, whilst Eldense player Cheikh Saad said that he had seen Aguilar arguing with di Pierro at half-time of the match, calling the latter a "scoundrel"; subsequently, the former asked La Liga president Javier Tebas to investigate those allegations.

Eldense temporarily suspended all sporting activities, also ending its contract with the Italian investment group represented by Capuani. They also released 12 players, with five people being arrested in connection with the events.

Three consecutive promotions Eldense spent four years in Tercera División and were promoted to the new fourth level Segunda División RFEF in 2020–21 season due to restructuring of the Spanish football league system. On 28 May 2022, Eldense secured a second consecutive promotion to the new third level Primera Federación after beating Sestao River in the last playoff match. On 25 June 2023, Eldense secured promotion to Segunda División after a draw against Real Madrid Castilla. The play-off finished 4–4 on aggregate meaning Eldense went up due to after having a higher regular season finish. Eldense returned to the second tier after a 59-year absence and achieved three consecutive promotions. After two seasons stay in second division, Eldense was relegated back third division in 2024–25 season, but the club achieved promotion back to second division in 2025–26 season, following a 2–1 win against Atlético Madrileño on 17 May 2026.

Ownership In September 2026, Argentine footballer Lionel Messi reached a agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of CD Eldense, The club confirmed the agreement on 9 September 2026, stating that the deal was subject to the completion of due diligence, final legal and contractual procedures, and the mandatory authorization of Spain's Consejo Superior de Deportes (High Council for Sports). The shares was previously held by TH Soluciones Group, a Colombian investment group led by Juan Carlos Trujillo, which took control of the club from previous owner Pascual Pérez in October 2025.

Season to season SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1928–2951st1929–3044th1930–3152nd1931–3254th1932–3351st1933–3451934–3551935–3651st1939–4052nd1940–4145th1941–4231st1942–4331st1943–4433ª2ndThird round1944–4533ª6th1945–4633ª7th1946–4733ª6th1947–4833ª5thSecond round1948–4933ª10thFirst round1949–5033ª15th1950–5133ª15thSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1951–52DNP1952–53DNP1953–5433ª8th1954–5533ª2nd1955–5633ª1st1956–5722ª16th1957–5822ª8th1958–5922ª16thRound of 321959–6033ª7th1960–6133ª4th1961–6233ª1st1962–6322ª7thRound of 321963–6422ª16thRound of 321964–6533ª4th1965–6633ª1st1966–6733ª1st1967–6833ª2nd1968–6933ª6th1969–7033ª9thFifth round1970–7141st SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1971–7233ª10thFirst round1972–7333ª14th1973–7433ª7thSecond round1974–7533ª4thSecond round1975–7633ª11thFirst round1976–7733ª4thThird round1977–7832ª B19thThird round1978–7943ª1stFirst round1979–8032ª B9thFirst round1980–8132ª B20thFirst round1981–8243ª4th1982–8343ª1stThird round1983–8443ª1stFirst round1984–8543ª1stFirst round1985–8643ª1stFirst round1986–8743ª2ndRound of 161987–8832ª B13thRound of 321988–8932ª B5thSecond round1989–9032ª B16th1990–9132ª B18thFirst roundSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1991–9243ª1st1992–9343ª11thFirst round1993–9443ª4th1994–9543ª9th1995–9643ª9th1996–9743ª8th1997–9843ª1st1998–9943ª10th1999–200043ª5th2000–0143ª9th2001–0243ª5th2002–0343ª11th2003–0443ª8th2004–0543ª3rd2005–0643ª3rd2006–0732ª B18thFirst round2007–0843ª5th2008–0943ª6th2009–1043ª17th2010–1143ª14th SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey2011–1243ª14th2012–1343ª10th2013–1443ª1st2014–1532ª B16thSecond round2015–1632ª B10th2016–1732ª B20th2017–1843ª5th2018–1943ª9th2019–2043ª6th2020–2143ª2021–2242ª RFEF4thFirst round2022–2331ª Fed.2ndRound of 322023–2422ª16thSecond round2024–2522ª19thRound of 322025–2631ª Fed.1stRound of 322026–2722ªTBD

8 seasons in Segunda División 2 seasons in Primera Federación 11 seasons in Segunda División B 1 season in Segunda División RFEF 59 seasons in Tercera División

Honours Tercera División Champions (12): 1955–56, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1991–92, 1997–98, 2013–14

Current squad

Youth players

Out on loan

Current technical staff

Famous players Note: this list includes players that have played at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status. Roberto Orellana Francisco Alba Boni Amat Pepico Amat José Castroverde Coca Foncho Francisco Grande Gregorio López Miró Peque José Luis Ramírez Manuel Santiago Alfonso Silos Juan Villena Diego Bardanca Florin Andone

Reserve team

Eldense's reserve team, CD Eldense B, was founded in 1994 and plays in the , which corresponds to the sixth tier. A second reserve team named CD Eldense C also existed during the 2002–03 season, playing in Segunda Regional. The C-side also returned to an active status in 2021, and currently plays in .

References

External links

Futbolme team profile Club & stadium history