It Got “Messi” in Barcelona
After dedicating his soul to F.C Barcelona since he was 13 years old, the LaLiga superstar, Leo Messi, has been forced to leave the organization due to the failure of agreeing about his future with the club. He is now packing his bags for France as he is set to join Paris Saint-German.
The person at fault is none other than the former president, Josep Maria Bartomeu. Spending money needlessly on players that did not contribute to a winning culture such as Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Greizmann. Between these three players alone, Barcelona spent upwards of 345 million Euros to secure their signatures, only to have them all disappoint at high levels. These frivolous spending patterns resulted in a billion-dollar-plus deficit for the club.
Current president Joan Laporta had his hands tied due to the previous regimes’ decisions. He made mention that keeping Messi was a “risky” investment. However, according to reports, Barcelona is being blocked from signing Messi to a new deal as the club’s finances are out of control and in violation of La Liga’s salary cap. It’s reported that even if Messi were to play for Barcelona for free, the club would be over the cap and unable to register him in its squad.
Essentially, the finances were so poorly managed that the “Messi” situation on Barca’s hands is a lose/lose situation. Once Messi’s departure plays out as estimated by Brand Finance, Barcelona could look at an 11 percent loss in their brand value, which is the amount the consultancy believes Messi alone contributes to Barcelona. That said, it’s easy to say this indeed is “Messi.”
However, if that wasn’t enough to digest, wait until you hear how PSG is paying him. This historic signing is also being partially paid by crypto fan tokens. Messi has been handed a lucrative two-year contract at the Parc des Princes, with PSG stating on the club's website exactly how they have put that deal in place:
"In a world-first for such a high-profile signing, Leo Messi received a large number of ‘$PSG Fan Tokens.” The clubs’ website also makes mention of how the inclusion of the $PSG Fan Tokens in the player’s welcome package instantly ties him with millions of Paris Saint-Germain fans around the world. The move further positions Paris Saint-Germain as one of the most innovative and avant-garde sports franchises in the world.
The token implementation comes as a great illustration of the way the club is consistently finding ways to increase and diversify its revenue streams to continue developing as a global brand. This of course puts Barcelona to shame as they weren’t able to resign him because of the lackluster funds that were nonexistent.
This isn’t anything new for PSG however. Back in 2018, Paris Saint-Germain made a pioneering step into the world of blockchain, becoming the first sports franchise to partner with Socios.com. Since then, Paris Saint-Germain and Socios have been working side by side to capitalize on this new and unique way to connect the club with the fans. For millions of PSG supporters around the world, Fan Tokens have become a creative way to engage with the rouge & bleu. With that said, this could revolutionize the game forever, not to mention make a mockery of Barcelona and the way they handle signing their athletes.
