Messi Paid $35 Million Worth of $PSG Fan Tokens in Transfer Deal

Argentinian football superstar Lionel Messi was paid with the Paris St Germain (PSG) fan token as part of his “welcome package” to the French club. PSG confirmed this on August 12, asserting that the transaction marks the first high-profile signing in football using cryptocurrency. 

Messi’s Total Sign-On Fee Up to $35m

The former Barcelona player has signed a two-year contract with the French club, according to media reports, and was paid a “large number” of the $PSG fan token, which was trading at US$40.89 at the time of writing. 

The exact number of $PSG paid to him wasn’t disclosed by the team, but the total sign-on fee is estimated to be around US$29-35 million. Messi hasn’t publicly shown interest in cryptocurrency and so it remains unknown if he will keep the tokens. 

PSG launched its fan token last year via Socios.com as another revenue stream and a medium to boost fan engagement. 

Fully embracing Socios.com and $PSG fan tokens has proved a massive success for the club. We have been able to engage with a new global audience, creating a significant digital revenue stream.

Marc Armstrong, chief partnerships officer, Paris Saint-Germain

Following news of the Messi transfer, the cryptocurrency spiked by over 50 percent, which shows PSG supporters are pleased, to say the least, with the development. The total $PSG token in circulation is currently worth US$118.5 million.

Fan Token Ecosystem is Getting Huge

Cryptocurrency has been gaining massive adoption in the sports industry as a fan token in the past year. Many professional football clubs now have their own native cryptocurrency, including Everton FC,  Barcelona and Manchester City. Known as the $CITY, the Manchester City token was launched in March in partnership with Socios.