Cristiano Ronaldo signs NFT partnership deal with Binance

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is getting into the world of NFTs following an exclusive deal with Binance.

The leading crypto exchange announced the NFT partnership with the football star in a press statement released on June 23, noting that the multi-year partnership seeks to connect the footballer with his fans by leveraging digital collectibles. Fans will have a chance to own “an iconic piece of sports history,” Ronaldo said in a video.

Over the course of the agreement, the Manchester United player, along with Binance, will release a series of NFT collections that will be exclusively sold on the Binance NFT platform. The first set of collectibles will be launched later this year.

“My relationship with the fans is very important to me, so the idea of bringing unprecedented experiences and access through this NFT platform is something that I wanted to be a part of. I know the fans are going to enjoy the collection as much as I do,” said Ronaldo.

Despite having one of the largest ecosystems in the crypto space, Binance has struggled to exert its dominance on the thriving NFT industry. In particular, its centralized exchange is currently the largest crypto trading platform ahead of others like Coinbase, FTX, and Kraken. The Binance Smart Chain is also the second-most used blockchain behind Ethereum, with over 400 different protocols built on it.

However, when it comes to the NFT market, Binance’s decentralized exchange, PancakeSwap, is currently twentieth in terms of NFT activities, with just $79 million in cumulative trading volume. Comparatively, the trading volume of marketplaces like OpenSea and LooksRare are $31.24 billion and $23.23 billion, respectively.

The partnership with Ronaldo could be seen as an attempt by the company to ramp up its efforts in the NFT market.