Lionel Messi signs $20 million deal with Socios.com fan token

Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Lionel Messi has signed a $20 million deal with Socios to become the fan token site's global brand ambassador, according to a report. The exchange for the next three years will be promoted by Messi, who plays for the Paris-Saint Germain soccer club.

A source close to the situation told the news agency that the transaction won't involve cryptocurrencies. According to the report, Messi received a large number of fan token from Socios as part of his signing-on fee.

Fans can have input on small decisions within their teams with the help of fan token. Fans of a number of different teams can use fan token at Socios.

Messi said that fans deserve to be recognized for their support.

More athletes and sports teams are crossing the field into crypto, with some of them taking all or part of their salary. As long as the teams are not promoting specific cryptocurrencies, they can get approval from the NFL.

The intersection of sports andcryptocurrencies has caused controversy. In December, the UK banned two ads that promoted the fan token for the football team. Off the Pitch accused Socios of failing to make promised payments to advisers and consultants on time. It says that it published messages from the CEO of Socios, who said that he wouldn't give them free money to protect the investors who bought into chiliZ. The price of CHZ is driven by prevailing market conditions just like other currencies and cryptocurrencies, according to Dreyfus. Any reward structure for eligible employees has no impact on the price.