Soccer superstar Lionel Messi has signed with his new club just last week, and word is that a “significant” portion of his yearly salary will be paid in the club’s cryptocurrency fan tokens.
The 34-year-old Argentine player had recently left Barcelona FC and has now signed a two-year contract with Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), a French team that competes in multiple major soccer leagues including the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1, the top division of French football.
Messi signed the two-year contract with PSG on Tuesday, with an option to extend his term for a third year with the club. The French club had confirmed on Thursday that Messi will be receiving PSG Fan Tokens as part of his “welcome package”, following a recent related report by Reuters.
According to a press release from PSG “The inclusion of the $PSG Fan Tokens in the player’s welcome package instantly ties him with millions of Paris Saint-Germain fans around the world. The move further positions Paris Saint-Germain as one of the most innovative and avant-garde sports franchises in the world.”
In 2018, Paris Saint-Germain became the first sports franchise to partner with Socios.com, the blockchain-enabled fan token platform. The aim is to create a unique way to connect the club with its fans. According to PSG, Fan Tokens have become a creative way for fans around the world to connect with players and the club itself.
Lionel Messi holding up his new team jersey for PSG F.C.
The Socios.com app provides its users (the fans) with various engagement opportunities through PSG Fan Tokens. These tokens allow holders to vote on certain decisions made by the club, such as choosing a motivational message to be displayed in the team’s dressing room before a game, voting on the Goal of the Season, voting for the winners of the club’s end of season awards, and many other minor influential decisions.
Other soccer clubs that have launched tokens this year are Premier League champions Manchester City and the Italian soccer giants AC Milan. Messi’s previous club, F.C. Barcelona, had launched their variation of the token last year.
Media reports have estimated Messi’s welcome package at PSG to be valued between 25 and 30 million Euros. However, the club has not disclosed the proportion of PSG Fan Tokens in the signing package but has mentioned that the number is “significant”.
PSG’s token saw an increase of around 130% shortly after reports of Messi’s signing with the club emerged. The total market capitalization of the PSG Fan Token is currently around $52 million, and the digital asset’s value came to an all-time high of $60 on Tuesday following the club’s announcement.
Just like any other cryptocurrency, Fan Tokens can also be traded on exchanges and experience the same volatility related to these digital assets as well, which has led to some regulators issuing warnings to investors about these assets.
Even so, cryptos and digital assets have seen massive support from high profile business and entertainment figures. As many know, the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has become one of the world’s most influential crypto supporters and is even helping to guide the crypto mining industry toward a sustainable future. Founder of Twitter and the mobile payment platform Square, Jack Dorsey, has also extended his company’s reach into the crypto game with Square’s latest announcement.
These are only a few of the latest signs of the growing acceptance and adoption of cryptocurrency. With big names like these backing blockchain tech and encouraging the use of cryptocurrency, the rest of the world is quickly learning to embrace digital assets as a whole.
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