Lleida, Catalonia, is facing the possible liquidation of Lleida CF after the club said it has no alternatives left following the arrest of a suspected investor. The historic football side, based at Camp d'Esports, is carrying debt of more than €5 million.
Marc Torres, the club's adjunt to the presidency, said there is “no future” for the 86-year-old team after the latest funding plan collapsed. The man had promised to cover €1.8 million in immediate debt and guarantee funds for seven years, but police detained him after irregularities were detected in the paperwork.
The club's problems deepened after the arrival of businessman and former UE Lleida player Luis Pereira as president in January 2022. He took over a club already in a critical state after the previous management, led by the Esteve brothers, triggered a Guardia Civil investigation at the Camp d'Esports offices. According to Segre, Pereira's early period also included internal conflict, including a public argument and an assault on his then-associate, Vicente Javaloyes.
Relations with Lleida City Council, the Paeria, have also been strained since January 2022. The municipal plenary, under Mayor Miquel Pueyo, voted to end the agreement for use of the Camp d'Esports stadium. In August 2023, Pereira accused the council, then led by Fèlix Larrosa, of “discrimination” after it rejected a proposed sports city project.
The dispute escalated in July 2024 when Lleida CF renovated the pitch without council authorisation, prompting further legal action and a demand that the club pay for the work. Earlier, in March 2024, a legal challenge forced the club to change its name from Lleida Esportiu to Lleida CF, its third name after Unió Esportiva Lleida.
By early 2025, the financial situation had become unsustainable. In March, Segre reported that players and staff had not been paid since January. Some foreign players had no money for daily life or to return home, while others relied on family support or sold belongings to get by. On 27 April 2025, Pereira said on X that he had been the victim of a scam involving investors linked to Dubai and a German company, and said it involved “threats, blackmail, and extortion.”
Without the promised capital, the club released its entire squad and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) administratively relegated it to Tercera RFEF because of unpaid debts. Pereira's last public appearance was on 4 April 2025, when he announced a pre-insolvency filing. In the summer of 2025, Marc Torres led a creditors' meeting at the last minute in an effort to stop embargoes and direct income from season tickets and sponsorships towards day-to-day costs.
The club tried to continue with a budget of €600,000 and under the technical direction of Jordi Cortés, but the debt had reached nearly €5 million, including €1.7 million owed to the tax agency and €2.3 million to social security. Supporters' clubs launched the Lleida 1939 project as a “plan B” in case the historic entity was fully liquidated. The team finished last in the league and suffered a second straight relegation, this time to the Elit league, the sixth tier.
In May 2026, the club believed it had found a solution with a supposed French hotel investor holding a British passport, who had promised immediate capital. After spotting irregularities in the documents, Torres alerted the Mossos d'Esquadra on 20 May. The man was arrested at Torres's office, and police found that the identity was false and that an arrest warrant from the Audiencia de Barcelona was already in place.
