Cristiano Ronaldo launches NFT money-spinner amidst Manchester United controversy and crypto crisis

This week of all weeks, it is hard to know which is losing verve faster Cristiano Ronaldo or crypto, so the timing of the soon-to-be-ex Manchester United footballer’s NFT launch is odd to say the least.

Today, amidst a media circus whipped up by the drip-fed release of his Piers Morgan interview, Ronaldo announced a multi-year partnership with crypto-exchange and blockchain technology firm Binance.

Ronaldo will as part of the deal sell a series of NFTs – in the form of digital “animated statues” that will depict the footballer in “an iconic moment”.

It comes at a time when the crypto market is in the depths of a confidence crisis following a string of high-profile collapses, of which this week’s bankruptcy of Binance rival FTX has swept through the market fears that financial contagion that may spark further devaluation of digital assets.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, arguably sees his stock in the football business at its lowest ebb as his ‘explosive’ interview with Piers Morgan is provoking anger amongst Manchester United fans and souring his legacy with “the biggest club in the world”.

In a Binance statement, the wantaway Portuguese said: “It was important to me that we created something memorable and unique for my fans as they are such a big part of my success.

“With Binance, I was able to make something that not only captures the passion of the game but rewards fans for all the years of support.”

He Yi, Binance chief marketing officer, meanwhile, added: “We believe the metaverse and blockchain are the future of the internet.

“We are honored to collaborate with Cristiano to help more people understand blockchain and showcase how we are building Web3 infrastructure for the sports and entertainment industry.”

On Friday, 18 November, 45 higher value ‘CR7’ NFTs will be auctioned via the Binance NFT marketplace, selling to the highest bidders over a 24-hour period.

Five of the “super super rare” (SSR) NFTs will begin the auction with an asking price of 10,000 BUSD (which is equivalent of US$10,000) whilst a further 40 “super rare” (SR) NFTs will be pitched initially at 1,700 BUSD (US$1,700) apiece. Lower tiers of the NFT sale will comprise “rare” (R) and “normal” (N) versions, with the N’s starting at 77 BUSD.

The Binance auction will be the latest celebrity NFT collection following the likes of Justin Beiber, Kevin Hart, Tyson Fury and Floyd Mayweather all of which have seen substantial devaluation in the secondary asset market following their auction and minting process.

Mayweather’s NFTs, for example, are down close to 99% in value, after reportedly netting US$4.9mln from the initial auction back in April (the NFTs were ‘minted’ with a price of 0.15 ETH and are priced today on the OpenSea exchange at 0.006 ETH).