The offices at Spotify Camp Nou have seen more activity during the past two months than any other club as Barcelona have been working hard to revive the club on all fronts.
The Catalans have overseen a squad overhaul by bringing in the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde to be able to compete with the rest of Europe’s elites once again.
Moreover, the sale of the club’s TV rights and the sponsorship deal with Spotify have also aided in retaining some financial health and clearing some of Barca’s outstanding debt.
The situation in Catalonia looks to have improved for the time being as back in March 2021 the club’s debt was rumoured to have been as high as $1.32 billion. But the efforts of President Joan Laporta and Director Mateu Alemany must continue to ensure that Barca is truly out of troubled waters.
Perhaps in an attempt to do just that Barca auctioned off the club’s first-ever NFT (non-fungible tokens) product for an impressive amount of $550,000 ($693,000, with the auctioneer’s fee added) at Sotheby’s in New York City.
As per reports, the NFT artwork is titled “In a way, Immortal” which is an audio-visual re-creation of Johan Cruyff’s famous acrobatic goal against Atletico Madrid during the 1973-74 campaign. This visual spectacle was created by the club in collaboration with BCN Visuals, an innovative technology company based in Barcelona.
Being a club legend and former head coach of Barcelona, Cruyff earned himself the nickname, ‘the Flying Dutchman’ after he ‘flew in the air’ to score against the Madrid club.
The NFT deal that was auctioned off at Sotheby’s on Saturday also includes four other NFT artworks including a static image that features the exact moment before Cruyff scored, capturing the Dutchman and the ball both mid-air.
But apart from the unique honour of being the owner of Barca’s first ever NFT product, it appears the buyer will also be receiving certain additional benefits and services from the Spanish club.
Firstly, the buyer is now set to be given a special status known as ‘Barca’s Digital Ambassador.’
As per the Sotheby’s catalogue, this new status provides the individual with a variety of premium services such as “Meet & Greets, visits to La Masia, hospitality rights (for a minimum of five years), the right to play at the Spotify Camp Nou and an official handover of the ball before some friendly match.”
Although this new NFT venture is expected to aid Barca to ward off its financial problems, it looks like the club will be able to attract more buyers for such artworks if they come loaded with such priceless VIP services and benefits to entice ardent supporters of the Blaugrana.