Lionel Messi, a soccer star who has won seven Ballon d’Or awards, has joined Sorare to be its brand ambassador and investor.

Sorare is an Ethereum-based fantasy football gaming platform that leverages non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Therefore, Messi will be instrumental in how fans connect with players and clubs.

Nicolas Julia, Co-Founder and CEO of Sorare, noted:

“We believe Messi will help us set new standards in how we do this, and we look forward to soon sharing the new content and fan experiences we’ve been collaborating on.”

He added that the partnership was a “huge milestone” for the platform.

Messi, who currently plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), said:

“Fans have always looked for ways to express their passion and get closer to the players and teams they love, and Sorare’s combination of a fantasy game with digital collectibles gives fans new ways to do so, wherever they are in the world. ”.

Sorare users often have the opportunity to create their preferred teams and trade NFT-based soccer player cards.

With at least 2 million users spread across 185 countries, Sorare was previously valued at $4.3 billion. The Paris-based startup has also partnered with more than 300 major sports teams and leagues, such as Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga.

Sorare has expanded its reach beyond soccer to include other sports such as baseball and basketball.

For example, the National Basketball Association (NBA) recently signed an agreement with the platform to improve the fan experience and generate more interaction, reported Blockchain.News.

The NBA recognized that the fantasy basketball game would allow fans to develop a line of NFT-based digital collectibles based on their favorite teams and players.

Sorare seeks to drive digital assets and blockchain adoption into daily life by creating unique digital tokens on its fantasy platform.

“There has been a lot of hype around different football projects using non-expendable technology so far, but the ones that will remain will be those that offer real underlying utility and see non-expendable technology as the means to achieve their goals, not the extremes.” Julia said.