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Lionel Messi arrives on the pitch after holding a press conference announcing his signing with French football club Paris Saint-Germain in Paris on August 11, 2021.
Alaattin Dogru | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Lionel Messi’s financial package at French football club Paris Saint-Germain includes crypto tokens.
Messi signed a two-year deal with PSG this week, with an option for a third, which will earn him an annual salary of $ 41 million plus bonuses, and a signing fee of $ 30 million.
PSG said Thursday that Messi’s “welcome package” includes the cryptocurrency “$ PSG Fan Tokens”.
The development has sparked a rally in the crypto tokens that PSG first issued to their fans over a year ago. The $ PSG token, created in January 2020 with the crypto platform Socios.com, was designed to help PSG create a new community of fans.
PSG have claimed that the decision to pay the 34-year-old Argentinian in crypto positions him as one of the “world’s most innovative and forward-thinking sports brands.”
Marc Armstrong, PSG’s director of partnerships, said in a statement that embracing Socios.com and The $ PSG Fan Tokens have enabled the club to reach a new global audience and create a significant source of digital revenue.
England Manchester City launched their own fan token in March using the same technology.
“Fan Tokens and Socios.com play an increasingly important role in sport at the highest level,” said Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Socios.com, in a statement.
PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi told reporters on Wednesday the world would be “shocked” by the financial income generated by the club’s signing of the world football superstar.
The signing is expected to bring in a windfall of commercial income, through the sale of jerseys. When Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Italian giants Juventus in 2018, more than $ 60 million of his shirts were sold in just 24 hours.
Messi joined PSG as a free agent after Barcelona admitted they could no longer afford to follow through on the elite player’s five-year contract deal.
Messi broke down in tears when he bid farewell to Barcelona on Monday, and told Wednesday’s press conference that last week had been an “emotional roller coaster”.
He won the FIFA Player of the Year award and the European Golden Shoe for the continent’s top scorer six times, a record, and left Barcelona after two decades with the Catalan club, in which he contributed. 672 goals in all competitions and won 34 trophies.
– CNBC’s Elliot Smith contributed to this report.
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