Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s most famous footballers, has partnered with Binance to launch several NFT collections, aiming to revitalize the NFT market. Binance recently launched the NFT collection in partnership with Ronaldo. This was the fourth collection from their collaboration and was exclusively available on Binance’s NFT marketplace. The collection included seven unique NFTs, each representing a key location in Ronaldo’s career: Madeira, Lisbon, Manchester, Madrid, Turin, Saudi Arabia, and Portugal.
Collectors were able to earn rewards based on the number of unique NFTs they owned. The first shipment of the “Forever Worldwide: The Road to Saudi Arabia” NFT collection became available exclusively on Binance’s NFT marketplace starting May 29, 2024.
The collection was launched in phases throughout the football season, culminating in an auction on June 14, which included extremely rare NFTs. Binance’s CR7 program also introduced a “Collect to Earn” system, rewarding collectors who accumulate more NFTs.
In partnership with Binance, Ronaldo has launched an NFT collection, marking a multi-year deal that could cement his position as a major figure in global cryptocurrency adoption. The partnership is expected to attract many newcomers to the crypto world, especially when market conditions improve.
However, Ronaldo’s partnership with Binance has sparked controversy. He was hit with a class-action lawsuit for promoting the Binance cryptocurrency exchange in November 2023. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Florida, alleged that Ronaldo’s endorsement of Binance in 2022 led users to invest in unregistered securities, resulting in significant financial losses. The plaintiffs argued that given Ronaldo’s investment experience and resources, he should have been aware of the potential risks associated with Binance’s practices.
The lawsuit claims that Ronaldo’s support led to a dramatic increase in interest, with searches on the cryptocurrency exchange increasing by up to 500% after his tokens were released. However, Ronaldo faced a setback when a U.S. judge refused to dismiss the class action lawsuit filed against him. On May 4, Judge Roy Altman denied Ronaldo’s request to dismiss the case and granted the plaintiffs’ request to stay the proceedings pending an arbitration decision. The judge said: “We deny without prejudice Defendant’s 29th motion to dismiss.”
Binance has leveraged Ronaldo’s global fame to expand its influence, building on existing football partnerships and potentially paving the way for future collaborations with major brands, which have already ventured into the Web3 space.
