Spanish football club FC Barcelona has secured a substantial €120 million ($132 million) investment for its Web3 initiative, Barca Vision. The investment comes from Libero Football Finance AG and Nipa Capital B.V. and entails FC Barcelona selling a 29.5% stake in Bridgeburg Invest, the holding company for Barça Vision. This strategic move aims to bolster the club’s foray into blockchain, non fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse, aligning with its digital Espai Barça strategy.
Libero Football Finance AG, a German company specializing in advising football clubs on financial matters, and Nipa Capital B.V., a Dutch venture capital firm, are the driving forces behind the investment. The transaction is contingent upon approval from FC Barcelona shareholders and is anticipated to conclude in Q4 2023.
FC Barcelona’s journey into the blockchain and NFT space began in February 2020, when it partnered with Chiliz blockchain to create Ethereum-based BAR fan tokens. Subsequently, in August 2022, Chiliz acquired a 24.5% stake in FC Barcelona’s digital content creation arm, Barça Vision, for $100 million.
✅| OFFICIAL: FC Barcelona reaches an agreement with Libero Football Finance and private investment advisors NIPA Capital BV to become new partners of Bridgeburg Invest, a Barça Vision trademark.
These investors have acquired 29.5% of the ownership of Barça Vision for €120m,… pic.twitter.com/4aWCMO8iA1
— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) August 11, 2023
Notably, FC Barcelona ventured into NFT collections in May, launching its inaugural collection named “Unleash Your Passion” in collaboration with Plastiks. This collection, featuring 3,000 animal-themed NFTs priced at $30 each, serves a dual purpose by contributing to environmental conservation efforts.
Further emphasizing the club’s digital ambitions, FC Barcelona auctioned its first NFT, “Masterpiece #1 In a way,” at Sotheby’s New York in July 2022, fetching $693,000. A subsequent piece from the series, “Masterpiece #2 – Empowerment,” was sold for $300,231 on OpenSea in June 2023.
The recent multimillion-dollar investment solidifies FC Barcelona’s commitment to innovation within the Web3, blockchain, and NFT landscape, positioning itself as a leading player in the sports and digital realms.
