Messi Given Around US$29–35 Million in PSG Crypto Fan Tokens After It Skyrockets Over 130%
This week, football star Lionel Messi officially transferred from Futbol Club Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (PSG). As a part of his two-year contract with PSG, Messi was given PSG fan tokens, which has an estimated value of US$29-35 million (approximately S$39.38-47.53 million). Aside from its monetary worth, fan tokens — a type of cryptocurrency — benefit owners as it let them vote on minor decisions affecting their football club.
Credit: AFP
PSG’s crypto fan token went up by more than 130% to achieve a record-high of over US$60 (approximately S$81.53) on 10 August 2021, when Messi’s involvement with PSG was merely hinted at. A day later, PSG tweeted an announcement video welcoming Messi to the team.
As of writing, the PSG Fan Token has a market capitalisation of over US$122 million (around S$165.77 million). On the same day, the token’s price was around US$42.05 (approximately S$57.14).
Before the Argentine athlete officially joined the team, the chatter surrounding PSG’s deal with Messi significantly impacted the price of the club’s fan token as new sales brought in around 30 million euros (nearly S$47.86 million). Trusted sources reported that PSG earned at least 15 million euros (more than S$17.6 million) from that amount.
According to Socios.com’s Chief Executive Officer Alexandre Dreyfus, it is possible that other football clubs could replicate PSG’s crypto fan token deal with Messi.
"I believe this could be the start of a new trend as fan tokens and Socios.com play an increasingly prominent role across sport at the very highest level," said Dreyfus.
Credit: AFP
So far, the French football club has yet to win a UEFA Champions League title, which could help establish its dominance in the European football competition. Meanwhile, Messi already bagged four trophies in the league. His recent Champions League victory happened in 2015 with his then-team Barcelona.
With Messi joining PSG, he hopes to deliver his new club a win.
"For me on a personal level, I would love to win another Champions, like I've said in previous years, and I think I've come to the ideal place that's ready for that. We have the same goals. It's got impressive players, one of the best squads in the world and, hopefully, we can achieve that goal which Paris wants so much, I want so much and hopefully we can enjoy it with the people of Paris too,” said Messi.
Considering the timing, it is most likely that Messi’s impact on PSG’s team image could have bolstered the price and performance of the PSG Fan Token. But it should be worth noting that athletes are not the only factors that can impact this type of cryptocurrency as token prices can change with little connection to how football clubs are performing in games.
Written by Sophia Lopez