Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the greatest player of his generation, if not all time, will be honored in “The Messiverse,” his first authorized non-fungible token (NFT) collection.
According to rumours, the Argentine football great is ready to join French giants Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Barcelona despite reaching an agreement on a new deal. On Thursday, the La Liga club confirmed his departure, citing financial and structural difficulties in renewing his contract.
The 34-year-old, who led Argentina to its first major title in 28 years after defeating Brazil in the Copa America final, will be honored in an authorized NFT collection dubbed “The Messiverse,” which will be available on blockchain platform Ethernity Chain starting at 21:00 UTC on August 20.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are data units recorded on a blockchain, a digital ledger that certifies that a digital asset is unique and hence not interchangeable. They’re one-of-a-kind, and can’t be hacked or tampered with. Digital media like pictures, films, audio can all be represented with NFTs.
They’re also works of art. They’re very much of the moment, very much of our digital era. In many circumstances, they can be beneficial. Exceptionally precious. So it should come as no surprise that Lionel Messi, who is one of a kind, a modern-day artist whose playing contracts continue to be based on mouthwatering money, is releasing his own collection.
NFTs can be so valuable that one sold at Christie’s auction house in London for $69m (£50m) earlier this year.
“Art, like football, is eternal,” Messi said in a statement provided exclusively to ESPN. “Art is also evolving, and digital art (NFT) is another way to connect with the fans. That’s why I’m happy to be launching my first official NFT thanks to the efforts of BossLogic and Ethernity, who have designed these four series of collections based on their experience and criteria. I hope the fans will like them as much as I do.”
The exclusive graphics were made by BossLogic, a supposedly huge name in digital design with previous work for Marvel Studios and Disney. They depict Messi’s many accomplishments and the Messiverse collection.
“The collection is a set of pieces outlining achievements, moments, team love and future accomplishments, focusing mainly on the man himself,” BossLogic said. “I have had the honour and privilege to create a set of pieces for the icon; to go down in history as his first singular NFT drop.”