As one of the world’s most famous soccer players from Argentina, Lionel Messi, ended his more than two decades of the gig with FC Barcelona, he has signed a two-year contract with the French club Paris Saint-German. Reuters reported that Messi included the PSG fan crypto tokens in his payment deal with the football club.
The Argentinian footballer, who won as many as four champion leagues titles for the club, had to leave the club as it became unviable for FC Barcelona to afford him after Spanish La Liga’s financial rules.
Messi’s contract with PSG and inclusion of crypto tokens
Messi, who has won Europe’s Golden Shoe and FIFA’s player of the year more than six times each, will reportedly take a net salary of $41 million, including a signing bonus of $30 million and other bonuses.
While talking to the media reporters, the head of PSG, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, said that people would be shocked to find out the numbers. However, with most of the contract details still surrounded in secrecy, the inclusion of PSG crypto fan tokens still remains a mystery.
PSG fan tokens surge to record high
On the other hand, Chiliz, a prominent blockchain company that operates the club’s fan tokens, stated that since Messi decided to join the club, the trading volume of the coins has surged to nearly $1.2 billion.
Previously, amidst the speculations surrounding Messi’s decision to join the French soccer club. But later, it saw a 40 percent downfall. On Thursday, soon after the star player confirmed his decision, the PSG token resumed its upward rush.
As per the latest data, the PSG/USD pair jumped more than ten percent, hitting a high of $41.90 percent. The recent bullish run came after the pair surged to a record high of $61.43 when Messi made a public address and suggested joining PSG.
Global sports and crypto tokens
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the popularity of digital tokens in global sports, with major sports clubs like Turkish Fenerbahçe S.K. are completing an initial presale of as many as 500,000 tokens on Ether.
PSG itself has been involved in the new technology since 2018, thanks to its partnership with Socios, a blockchain technology company that considers FC Barcelona and other major clubs, including Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and many others.
Meanwhile, crypto experts suggest that the flash sales of fans’ tokens are lucrative for the clubs involved. Interestingly, it became more relevant following the pandemic and helped the clubs maintain their digital presence and keep the fan engagement.
On the other hand, the critics of the new model have said that it gives fans more than cosmetic says in club decisions, citing the voting rights on fan tokens. They further describe it as monetization of the fan base.
