Soccer superstar Lionel Messi scores again.
The Argentine playmaker has joined Sorare, the NFT trading card game, as an investor and brand ambassador. As part of the newly-inked deal, Messi will receive equity in the company in exchange for helping it connect with fans and clubs around the world. Neither party disclosed the terms of the partnership.
Although the duo didn’t go public with the details of the agreement, they did share their plan. They’re teaming up to raise the level of play in NFT fantasy sports and will be creating new content and experiences to achieve that goal.
Sorare CEO Nicolás Julia believes this is a “huge” move for the company. As a global soccer star, Messi should help the France-based company grow its 2 million userbase and 300 sports partners. But he won’t be the only one it relies on. Sorare has formed partnerships with Paris Saint-Germain soccer player Kylian Mbappe and tennis legend Serena Williams.
As for Messi, he’s also been playing the field. Other than Sorare, he partnered with digital fan token company Socios in March. The deal was worth $20 million for three years. As part of the agreement, Messi stars in Socios’s promotional campaign leading up to the Qatar World Cup.
Soccer Stars Are Finding Their Footing in the Metaverse
Lionel Messi isn’t the only soccer star scoring deals in the metaverse. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered many stories of high-profile players buying, releasing, and investing in NFTs. Here are the top three:
In June 2022, global sports icon Cristiano Ronaldo netted an NFT partnership with Binance. As part of the deal, Cristiano Ronaldo digital collectibles will release exclusively on the Binance NFT marketplace. Ronaldo (aka CR7) is also expected to promote the partnership to his 495M+ social media followers.
In April 2022, retired footballer David Beckham filed NFT and metaverse trademarks. The trademarks were filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on April 19th and shared on Twitter on April 24th. With this move, Beckham signaled his intentions in Web3.
In January 2022, Brazilian soccer star Neymar bought Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. He acquired the two Apes (#6633 and #5269) for a total of 350 ETH, which was worth $1.1 million at the time of sale. Ape #6633 ranked as the 119th rarest, and #5269 as the 1062nd rarest.
These soccer stars are known for their scoring on the field. But if they continue to make moves like these off of it, their athletic careers may become a footnote.