Paris Saint Germain pulled out all of the stops to secure the signing of Lionel Messi this summer and are propping up the lucrative salary package of football's biggest star with the inclusion of cryptocurrency assets, Sportsmail can reveal.
The sporting world is still reeling from Messi's switching of allegiance from Barcelona to the French capital, after it was confirmed that he could no longer be re-registered at the Nou Camp.
Eyebrows were raised when PSG immediately became frontrunners for the superstars, despite already boasting the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe on their books, along with summer signings Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
And, despite Messi's eye-watering £1million-per-week two-year deal which sees him remain as the world's highest paid footballer, PSG struck a deal with the player and his representative to see a portion of his payment package made up of '$PSG fan tokens.'
Back in September 2018 PSG announced an innovative partnership with blockchain company socios.com, kick-starting a process whereby supporters of the club could begin to purchase $PSG fan tokens, powering by $Chiliz cryptocurrency.
The company became the 'official branded cryptocurrency partner' of PSG, and now a breakthrough moment has arrived with the virtual currency playing a defining role in what is arguably the football deal of the century.
On Thursday morning the Parisian club confirmed that 'Leo Messi received a large number of ‘$PSG Fan Tokens' during the completion of his contract, providing vast value to his pay packet with the Ligue 1 giants.
The tokens function as digital currency and hold value of their own, while enabling supporters to essentially cash these in with the club in order to have a say on how operations are run on an internal level.
Previously, PSG fan token holders have been able to determine end of season awards for the club, along with having the power to make physical changes in the players' dressing room.
Though the total value of the package remains unknown, PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi this week insists the club have not broken financial fair play guidelines and remain assured that they are operating within their means.
Speaking during Messi's unveiling press conference in the French capital on Wednesday, Al-Khelaifi said: ‘Regarding the financial aspect, I will make it clear — we know the rules of FFP and we will always follow the regulations.
'Before we do anything, we check with commercial, financial and legal people. We have the capacity.
'If we sign Leo, it’s because we can, otherwise we would not have done it.
‘What Leo brings to the club is huge, which you can see just outside (the stadium, where thousands of fans had gathered). He is a big asset.
‘I hope Leo will not ask for a raise of salary, but what we have is fantastic.’
PSG are one of a host of European clubs to have signed up to the cryptocurrency movement, along with the likes of Juventus, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal and Messi's former club Barcelona.
Marc Armstrong, Chief Partnerships Officer of Paris Saint-Germain said of the deal: '[We are] Fully embracing Socios.com and $PSG Fan Tokens has proved a massive success for the club.
'We have been able to engage with a new global audience, creating a significant digital revenue stream.”
The last 12 months have seen a huge growth in the presence of cryptocurrency within world football, with Italian giants Juve having previously rewarded their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo - Messi's renowned rival - with crypto tokens for breaking the goalscoring record.
In March Ronaldo was presented with 770 $JUV Fan Tokens after becoming the all time leading goalscorer in club football, and was handed a specially printed 'G.O.A.T' on the pitch at the Allianz Stadium.