Messi and Paris Saint-Germain recently signed a two-year deal (with an option for a third year). The contract offers him an annual salary of $41 million and bonuses and reportedly includes a signing-on fee of $30 million.

The club said that the “welcome package” of the soccer superstar includes the crypto assets called “$PSG Fan Tokens.”

“$PSG Fan Tokens,” designed in January 2020 via a crypto platform called Socios.com, were created to support Paris Saint-Germain in building a larger fan community. The recent development has generated a rally in those crypto tokens, relatively dormant since their launch.

Paris Saint-Germain claimed their move to pay Lionel Messi partly in crypto tokens as one of the “most innovative and avant-garde brands in the sport globally.”

There is a lengthy debate on the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Their value can dramatically rise or fall overnight, and many critics claim that these virtual tokens have no actual use in the material world. It is also contended that strict regulations will be applied to the cryptocurrency market in the following years.

PSG chief partnership officer Marc Armstrong recently stated that the club could engage with a new, larger, and more global audience community and generate a remarkable virtual revenue stream thanks to its embracing “$PSG Fan Tokens” and Socios.com.

English club Manchester City also released its fan tokens in March this year utilizing the same technology.

The CEO of Socios.com, Alexandre Dreyfus, said in a recent statement:

“Fan Tokens and Socios.com play an increasingly prominent role across sport at the very highest level.”