Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi continues to plan for his post-career playing life as the 35-year-old joins Sorare, the French NFT game, as an investor and brand ambassador.
Messi coming on board will help the company set new criteria for how fans connect with clubs and players. The two parties will also work together to create new content and fan experiences.
“We believe Messi will help us set new standards in how we do this, and we look forward to sharing what new content and fan experiences we’ve been collaborating on soon,” Nicolas Julia, Sorare’s CEO and co-founder, said to CNBC.
Sorare lets users trade digital player cards and manage teams of five in fantasy soccer tournaments.
The cards are nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, virtual collectible items that maintain a record of ownership tracked on the blockchain. Sorare states this produces “digital scarcity” for each card.
Messi isn’t a stranger to the digital token world, as the PSG star signed a $20 million deal with Socios to become the fan token site’s global brand ambassador in March.
The Argentine will promote the exchange for the next three years as he adds more partnerships to allow him to parachute comfortably into retirement.