Following the media frenzy surrounding Leo Messi’s transfer, the price of Paris Saint-Germain Fan Token has skyrocketed, even exceeding meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
The PSG cryptocurrency has gained more than 74 percent in the last four days, according to CoinMarketCap data. Binance and Paribu, a Turkish crypto exchange, account for the majority of its trading volume.
The utility token, which the club debuted in early 2020 in collaboration with Socios.com, allows fans to participate in the club’s decision-making process by voting in a variety of polls. Similar fan tokens have been launched by Juventus and A.C. Milan.
Barcelona sent shockwaves through the football world earlier this week when it announced that Messi would be leaving the club.
During a news conference on Friday, President Joan Laporta revealed that the Spanish club could not afford a new contract with the Argentine superstar owing to financial constraints. On June 30, his prior contract came to an end.
Paris Saint-Germain, whose president Nasser Al-Khelaifi tried to buy Messi from Barcelona last summer, has emerged as the frontrunner to sign the 34-year-old.
On August 7, the French source L’Equipe reported that PSG was willing to pay one of the greatest football players of all time a 40 million euro annual wage.
However, the agreement has not yet been formalized. On Sunday, the Paris-based club is due to meet with Messi’s representatives.
Messi’s former colleague, Brazilian player Neymar, was purchased by PSG for a world-record-breaking 222 million euros in 2017. The former has already offered the latter his No. 10 shirt.
Messi said it was “the toughest time” of his career during an emotional press conference on Sunday.
Despite the fact that the superstar cited PSG as a “possibility,” he did not confirm his move:
I have nothing confirmed with anybody, but it’s one possibility. When the news was there, I had a lot of calls, but nothing is closed yet.
