Soccer Star Lionel Messi to Receive Pay in Ethereum-Based Cryptocurrency

Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi will receive payment in cryptocurrency tokens as part of his move to French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the club announced Thursday. Amid soaring popularity of cryptocurrency, the player’s lucrative two-year deal with the team further legitimizes the emerging crypto market.

After a shocking exit from Spanish club Barcelona, Lionel Messi signed a two-year deal with Qatari-owned PSG early this week that will earn him $41 million in an annual salary plus bonuses. The club also revealed that Messi’s welcome package includes cryptocurrency PSG fan tokens.

Although the PSG only disclosed that the actual amount in fan token is significant, media reports are estimating that the amount could range around 25 to 30 million euros. The club says fan tokens will help in closing the star player with millions of PSG fans.

Prior to receiving payment in crypto, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner publicized his official NFT art collection on Instagram. The art collection is called Messiverse, which includes four digital artworks.

“Soccer is like art,” Messi said. “It’s timeless,”

The Argentine, who broke into tears when bidding farewell to Barcelona, spent 21 years at the Catalan club and became the record scorer with 672 goals in 778 appearances. Although he agreed to cut his pay by 50% in a new deal, the Spanish club denied renewing the contract due to financial obstacles.

The arrival of Barcelona’s record scorer is likely to strengthen the PSG team, with expectations that the four-time Champions League winner will help PSG become Europe’s prestigious league champion for the first time.   

What is a fan token and how does it work?

Created by crypto platform Socios, a fan token is a type of non-fungible token (NFT) that is mostly built on Ethereum-based blockchain technology. Like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, fan tokens are also considered a digital asset, and they trade on exchanges.

One can buy fan tokens against real-world money for various reasons including becoming a part of the key decision-making process through voting.

Using an app, the fan token holders can influence decisions including the team’s destination for a pre-season tour, music and message on the captain’s armband. Fans can also vote on the goal of the season as well as the end-of-season awards.

The number of tokens one owns matters a lot in the polling process. 

In terms of investment perspective, people can generate gains by holding and trading these tokens. The price movement of the fan token is directly correlated to the soccer club’s performance.

Why are soccer clubs joining fan tokens?

The trend of issuing fan tokens is gaining momentum, with several famous clubs including Arsenal, Aston Villa and Inter Milan, planning to announce their own fan tokens. Along with engaging with fans across the world, fan tokens are becoming a new source of revenue generation for clubs.

Marc Armstrong, chief partnerships officer of PSG, cheered the success of the PSG fan token.

“Fully embracing Socios.com and $PSG Fan Tokens has enabled the club to engage with a new global audience and create a significant digital revenue stream,” he said in a statement.

The trading volume of PSG fan tokens exceeded 722 million euros before Messi’s arrival and new sales generated about 30 million euros. The token price surged close to 130% in five days amid reports of Messi’s arrival.   

Socios.com, the provider of fan tokens for PSG and other clubs, has generated nearly $200 million in revenue for its partner clubs in 2021.

“Paris Saint-Germain are reaping the rewards of their bold approach and I believe this could be the start of a new trend as Fan Tokens and Socios.com play an increasingly prominent role across sport at the very highest level,” Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com said.

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