Stephanie Douse 
According to Reuters, Football star Lionel Messi has signed a three-year deal worth more than $20 million with digital fan token firm Socios.com. Lionel Messi will become Socios.com’s first global ambassador.
Following NFL quarterback Tom Brady and NBA star LeBron James, Messi is the latest global sports figure to enter the crypto realm, and the arrangement is part of a growing wave of collaborations between crypto enterprises and soccer.
Messi, whose August transfer from Barcelona included a cryptocurrency payment, will be involved in a media and advertising drive for Socios in the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar, which begins in November.
According to the source, Messi’s ‘ambassador’ deal does not include crypto payments and is a three-year deal.
Football club fan token
Fan tokens are a sort of cryptocurrency that allows holders to vote on a variety of minor club decisions. The tokens are increasingly considered by clubs as a source of fresh cash, but they have been criticized by certain supporters groups, who see them as a gimmick that adds to the already rising costs of supporting their teams.
Over 130 sporting organizations, including PSG, Barcelona, Juventus, and Manchester City, have signed arrangements with Socios, which includes the creation of tokens.
Brady became an ambassador for crypto exchange platform FTX Trading Ltd last year after taking an undisclosed equity position in the company.
James announced a multi-year relationship with Crypto.com in January, a company that recently struck a sponsorship agreement with FIFA, the world soccer regulatory body.