FC Barcelona’s first NFT collection sold for $693,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Friday. The collection, titled ‘In a Way, Immortal’, celebrated their late legendary player, Johan Cruyff, who passed away in 2016.
About Barcelona’s Debut NFT
FC Barcelona’s first NFT was made in memory, and celebration of one of their best, and most legendary players of all time, Dutch international, Johan Cruyff.
To clarify, the NFT itself was a 40-second long audiovisual piece that aesthetically recreates, in a molten gold animation, a goal scored by Cruyff in a match against Atletico Madrid in 1973.
The piece was created and animated by a team of 40 computer graphics and visual effects artists in Holywood.
The Benefits for Holders
The winner of the auction, who becomes the owner of the NFT will get access to a vast number of benefits. The winner will be named a digital ambassador at the ‘Catalan Club’. As well as this, they’ll receive access to training sessions, and ‘money can’t buy’ experiences. These experiences are listed as: meet and greets, visits to Barcelona’s academy, La Masia, hospitality rights (for a minimum of five years), the right to play at the Spotify Camp Nou stadium and an official handover of the ball before a friendly match.
The History of FC Barcelona and Cruyff
FC Barcelona is one of the greatest and most famous football clubs in the history of the game. Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture.
Dissimilar to other clubs, Barcelona is owned and operated by the fans. They are the fourth-most valuable sports club in the world, worth $4.76 billion. In their history, they have seen some of the world’s best players. The list includes Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Pep Guardiola, and of course, Johan Cruyff.
Over the past few years, particularly since the loss of their poster boy, Lionel Messi, to PSG, FC Barcelona has been subject to some financial struggles. However, this season, they have signed a huge deal with Spotify to become the main sponsor of the club. The deal includes naming rights to the club’s stadium. Hopefully, this will terminate their financial difficulties.
Cruyff joined the club in 1973, playing until 1978 and winning the Ballon d’Or twice in that time period. He returned to coach the club in 1988. In that time, he won their first European Cup in 1992, as well as four league trophies. Cruyff later coached the Catalonia national team from 2009-2013, before passing away in 2016.
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