Former Barcelona star also unveiled an NFT collectible recently
Lionel Messi received a substantial amount of crypto fan tokens as part of his two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Reuters reported.
PSG confirmed on its website that the 34-year-old was given the tokens as part of a “welcome package,” stating:
“In a world first for such a high-profile signing, Leo Messi received a large number of ‘$PSG Fan Tokens’.”
The announcement followed Messi’s swift transfer to the French club after his departure from FC Barcelona. PSG added that the tokens are intended to connect Messi with millions of fans worldwide.
Fan token holders can take part in club-related activities such as voting for goal of the season or selecting player of the year. Because fan tokens share functional traits with other cryptocurrencies, they have also attracted investors looking to benefit from price movements.
For instance, one investor observed that on 9 August—while reports continued to link Messi to PSG—the price of the club’s fan token jumped about 25%, rising to more than $50 per token.
That’s $PSG crypto coin, more than doubled since Messi was linked to the club!!! pic.twitter.com/MZmJOJpPvd
— Flick Era (@rapcrux) August 9, 2021
According to CoinGecko data, the PSG fan token rose more than 81% over the seven days surrounding the signing news. Most of the gains occurred shortly before the club formally announced the deal, with the PSG/USD rate peaking at $58.04 in that seven-day window—just below its all-time high of $58.79 set on 27 April 2021.
At the time of reporting, the Paris Saint-Germain token had fallen around 3% over the past 24 hours, trading near $41.07. Although this price sits roughly 30% below the April peak, it represents a gain of more than 1,050% since its all-time low of $3.57 recorded on 1 July 2020.
The token, ranked 333rd by CoinGecko at the time, recorded daily trading volume exceeding $317 million, with market capitalization rising to about $118 million.