The partnership between Binance and Cristiano Ronaldo

Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, announces the launch of the first NFT collection of Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and one of the world’s strongest soccer players. 

The NFT collection in collaboration between the two will be available starting at 10 AM on Friday, 18 November, as part of an exclusive, multi-year partnership between the company and the footballer. 

Binance and Ronaldo: together for the expansion of the blockchain world 

The partnership between Binance and Ronaldo has specific goals. Indeed, to support the first NFT collection of the soccer player, there will be a global marketing campaign featuring Ronaldo. 

Binance’s goal is to explore and raise awareness of Web3 through the world of NFTs. To do this, it has chosen one of the most prominent personalities, not only in the world of soccer. 

Indeed, anything Ronaldo does, says or supports immediately goes viral on the Web, thanks to the following of the nearly 500 million followers he gathers on social media. 

The partnership also arrives in Italy, where the launch of the NFTs will take the form of a commercial created by Binance that will be launched on the RAI, Radiotelevisione Italiana, channels and will be aired before the kickoff whistle of every FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 match starting 20 November. 

The commercial also includes a partnership with Calciatori Brutti, the famous soccer-related community. Following the news are the words of He Yi, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Binance: 

“We are convinced that the metaverse and the blockchain are the future of the internet. We are honored to partner with Cristiano to help more people understand blockchain and show them how we are building Web3 infrastructure for the sports and entertainment industry.”

An enthusiastic Cristiano Ronaldo also comments on the collaboration with Binance: 

“It was important to me to create something memorable and unique for my fans, because they are a big part of my success. With Binance, I’ve managed to make something that not only captures the passion of the game, but rewards the fans for all the support they have shown me over the years.”

CR7’s NFT collection: merchandise, rewards and mystery boxes 

The NFT collection of CR7, available exclusively on Binance, will be the first in a series of launches dedicated to the global soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo. After redefining the game of soccer as we know it, now the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has set his sights on the NFT arena. 

Lorenzo Capone, Head of Marketing & Growth Italy at Binance, explained that the planning on RAI aims to grow more and more Italians’ proximity to Web3, which is not only their future: it now represents the present. In addition, for the most passionate, the new collection is an exclusive opportunity to get in touch directly with the champion CR7. 

Specifically, the inaugural Cristiano Ronaldo Collection for the NFT World contains seven animated statues with four levels of rarity: Super Super Rare (SSR), Super Rare (SR), Rare (R) and Normal (N). Each NFT statue depicts Ronaldo at an iconic moment in his life, from the bicycle kicks that marked his career, to his childhood in Portugal. 

The 45 most valuable CR7 NFTs (5 SSR and 40 SR) will be auctioned on Binance’s NFT marketplace. The auction will be open for 24 hours starting at 10 AM on 18 November, and the NFTs will be awarded to the highest bidders. 

Auction prices will start at BUSD 10,000 for SSRs and BUSD 1,700 for SRs. The remaining 6,600 NFTs (600 R and 6,000 N) will be offered on Binance Launchpad, starting at 77 BUSD for Normal rarity.

It doesn’t end there, as each rarity level will come with a host of exclusive benefits, including autographed CR7 and Binance merchandise, guaranteed access for all future CR7 NFT drops, complimentary CR7 Mystery Box, and participation in giveaways with signed merchandise and prizes.

In addition, for the first 1.5 million new users who register on Binance.com with the referral ID, RONALDO (and complete the KYC), starting XX will receive a Cristiano Ronaldo Mystery Box, which can include limited edition Ronaldo NFTs. 

NFTs conquering the soccer world 

Before the Binance and Ronaldo partnership, the company that proposed a digital version of classic fantasy soccer was Sorare, founded by French entrepreneur Nicolas Julia. With Sorare, fans have the opportunity to purchase cards representing real-world players, having them play against each other.

Julia’s platform has become so prestigious that many celebrities have invested in it, including France and Paris Saint-Germain’s famous soccer player Kylian Mbappé.

Since Sorare, many clubs, as in the case of Inter Milan, have used fan tokens to build loyalty among their audiences, promising in exchange for the purchase a greater say in the internal management of their team and, in addition, giving fans the opportunity to actively participate in training strategies through voting.

Despite initial difficulties, the success of NFTs in the world of soccer has been so expansive that today we see well-known players from major teams entering the field with T-shirts advertising Web3 companies such as Crypto.com. 

In addition to Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, the other world soccer star, has also made his own partnerships with Sorare and Bitget. Today, Messi, has officially become an ambassador for Sorare.