Football Star Cristiano Ronaldo Plays Football with Binance NFT Holders Amid Lawsuit

Cristiano Ronaldo trained with holders of his non-fungible token (NFT) in a Binance event amid several investors seeking damages from the sports star in a United States lawsuit.

On Jan 25, Ronaldo played football with selected NFT holders in a training drill in Lisbon alongside Binance ambassador Khaby Lame and footballer Maria Markovic.

Meeting and training with one of the greatest athletes of all time, @Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sounds to good to be true? For holders of the rarest ForeverCR7 NFTs on #Binance, we made it a reality.

Click below to read about their experience!https://t.co/RUxlbN5AC9

— Binance (@binance) January 25, 2024

The Golden Ticket was part of the CR7 Forever Zone Collection and the GOAT NFT Series. The Golden Ticket holder and four other users selected at random got a chance to play alongside the football star.

The event “Train with CR7” saw Ronaldo teach participants several football techniques including penalty decisions with Khaby Lame in goal.

Fans described the event as an unbelievable once-in-a-lifetime chance to practice their favorite sport with one of the best players.

Ronaldo shared highlights of the session on his Instagram page. The footballer noted that it was an amazing fan experience set up by the exchange expressing gratitude to the holders of his rarest NFTs.

Ronaldo’s NFTs Journey

In June 2022, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United player announced a multi-year NFT partnership with Binance with former CEO Changpeng Zhao praising the sports star for boasting one of the most dedicated fan bases through skill and authenticity.

#Binance 🤝 @Cristiano 🐐

We're kicking off an exclusive multi-year NFT partnership with football legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

This is your opportunity to own an iconic piece of sports history and join CR7's Web3 community. pic.twitter.com/3j1lKcqrbn

— Binance (@binance) June 23, 2022

On his part, Ronaldo noted that he would like to bring new experiences to his fans as he always wanted to be a part of the NFT platform.

“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.”

NFT Leads to Lawsuit in the United States 

However, one year later, Ronaldo faces a lawsuit in the United States over promoting the NFT with Binance.

The plaintiffs claim he participated in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in partnership with Binance claiming damages of over $1 billion.

In 2022, the cheapest of the digital collectibles were priced at $77 but plunged to $1 a year later with investors claiming that Ronaldo’s involvement led to a 500% increase in searches.

“Ronaldo’s promotions solicited or assisted Binance in soliciting investments in unregistered securities by encouraging his millions of followers, fans, and supporters to invest with the Binance platform.” 

On Jan 16, plaintiffs sought to serve the sports star through substituted means like email and social media as efforts to locate his residence in Saudi Arabia have been difficult