Real Madrid and Barcelona FC Team Up for Metaverse Activities

Despite their innate differences and fierce rivalry on the pitch, Spanish football superclubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have filed a joint metaverse trademark application encompassing virtual reality gaming/clothing and crypto transaction management software:

Both Clubs to Offer Crypto Wallets

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid filed the application over a week ago but the news has only just been confirmed by trademarks lawyer Mike Kondoudis. The filing indicates that both clubs may be interested in offering their own cryptocurrency wallets.

The alliance has raised eyebrows in that each team represents totally different values. FC Barcelona symbolises the separatist Catalan region, while Real Madrid is linked to the royal family and represents traditional Spanish culture and nationalism.

The derby between the clubs is known as “El Clasico” and is one of football’s premier events. Both clubs have a global fanbase and are the world’s two most followed sports teams on social media.

Back on the Crypto Bandwagon

News of the joint venture has also created interest in light of the fact that FC Barcelona, along with English Premier League champions Manchester City, discarded its crypto sponsors last year in controversial circumstances.

In the case of FC Barcelona, the club announced it had cancelled a deal with NFT marketplace Ownix after the arrest of one of its consultants, Moshe Hogeg, owner of Israeli football team Beitar Jerusalem, for suspected crypto fraud.

Also in November 2021, the Catalan club announced it would be auctioning non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of memorable moments from the club’s 122 years in the game. It was whispered at the time that the auction would serve to offset a debt crisis afflicting the club.

Fan Tokens Part of Metaverse Strategy

Earlier this year, FT Barcelona confirmed music streaming giant Spotify as its jersey sponsor. It also issued its own fan token and has since been linked with fan engagement token company Socios.com in a US$100 million deal to reshape the strategies of the club in the Web3 and metaverse space.

In 2020, Real Madrid partnered with NFT collectible company Sorare and the following year announced it would issue Smart Tickets in the form of NFTs for its audience in partnership with LAVA.