Seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, Lionel Messi joined Sorare today, thus forging a partnership with the fantasy sports company which uses NFT technology and therefore blockchain. 

With this partnership, Lionel Messi will become an ambassador of Sorare, a blockchain-based gaming platform that not only provides a game related to soccer but has also recently launched games related to baseball and basketball.

After Kylian Mbappé and Serena Williams, Lionel Messi is the newest world-famous sports star to join Sorare.

In addition to being awarded the Ballon d’Or seven times, Messi has won the Copa America 2021, 4 UEFA Champions Leagues, 3 FIFA Club World Cups and 11 championships in Spain and France. He has more than 160 caps for Argentina and boasts more than 750 goals scored in his career between club and national team.

Sorare and NFT investments, the latest with Lionel Messi

In 2021, Sorare had achieved a record $680 million Series B funding round to accelerate the development of the fantasy sports platform, and it was also thanks to these funds that he was able to close such a great partnership with Messi.

“The ability that sports has to inspire and excite all of us is unique,” said Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina soccer player. “Fans are always looking for new ways to express their passion and get closer to the players and teams they love, and Sorare’s combination of fantasy sports and digital cards offers fans a never-before-seen opportunity to do so, wherever they are in the world. I believe the potential of what Sorare is building is immense, and I can’t wait to see what more they will do in this electrifying and rapidly developing space.”

Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare, said:

“We are thrilled and proud that Lionel Messi is joining Sorare. We created Sorare because we are, first and foremost, soccer fans: one of the greatest players ever joining us for the next phase of our journey is truly a dream come true. This has already been an incredibly exciting year for our community, with the launch of two new sports-baseball and basketball. This partnership marks another important milestone, and we look forward to working with Messi as we continue to grow our community and develop the experience we offer users, pursuing our ambition to make Sorare the next global sports entertainment giant.”  

What is Sorare?

Sorare is a free-to-play game based on NFT technology. Initially, the platform featured only soccer as a sport and then the ability for users to create teams of 5 players (i.e., 5 cards as NFTs) and win or lose based on the results of real matches.

Later, Sorare created other games, branching out with partnerships also in baseball and basketball with big contracts, for example, with the American NBA.

Founded in 2018, Sorare now boasts an impressive 2 million users in more than 185 countries, with more than 300 partner sports teams and organizations, including LaLiga, the Bundesliga, and Serie A. 

Based in both Paris and New York City, Sorare has been funded by a world-class team that includes Benchmark, Accel, Softbank, and ambassadors such as athletes Serena Williams, Kylian Mbappé, and now Lionel Messi. 

Lionel Messi loves crypto

Recently, the famous soccer champion has also partnered with the Bitget exchange. In fact, in late October, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange had announced that it had entered into a partnership with Lionel Andrés Messi.

Bitget, also founded in 2018, is a leading cryptocurrency exchange with innovative products and social trading services as its main features. Its flagship social trading product, One-Click Copy Trade, has amassed more than 55,000 professional traders with about 1.1 million followers, a testament to Bitget’s long-term efforts and results in cryptocurrency social trading.

Through this partnership, Bitget will offer Messi fans a unique opportunity to explore Web 3.0 and the potential of cryptocurrency trading on the exchange.

There is also a shared understanding that the partnership will allow both parties to engage in more robust efforts beyond cryptocurrencies and soccer.