“This is a positive signal for the industry in general”

Lionel Messi joins forces with his compatriot and former teammate Sergio Agüero to become co-owner of the KRÜ Esports structure, created in 2020.

We can’t talk about reconversion, since Lionel Messi is still a football player… But in the future, he will dedicate some of his time to video games, and to competition, since he has just invested in structure KRÜ Esports to become co-owner alongside his compatriot and teammate in the selection, also a star football player, Sergio Aguëro.

franceinfo: Messi investing in esports, what is this deal?

Laure Valée: This is news that pleased esports and football fans: Lionel Messi is joining the esports team of his compatriot and former teammate Sergio Aguëro, KRÜ Esports, as co-owner of the club. It is not yet known whether this entry into the club will have more visible links, and what this will mean for the future of the structure. But it’s a positive signal for the esports industry in general.

They are not the first football players to invest in esports, to create a club?

Absolutely. Athletes in general joining forces or creating esports structures is something that we have been seeing for several years now. In the world of football, we have the example of Pique, former FC Barcelona player, who joined forces with the very popular Spanish content creator Ibai, within the Koi team. David Beckham is co-owner of the Guild esport team. And there is also Antoine Griezmann, and his brother Théo, who created their club: Grizzy esport.

It is now football players who are investing in esports. A few years ago, it was more the clubs?

FC Barcelona, ​​PSG, Manchester City and others, which we started to see from 2016. Sometimes, football clubs only attached their name to already existing esports structures, an association of brands , therefore, quite different from what we see today. It was an important signal at the time.

And these football clubs or players who invest in esports don’t just field athletes in football games or sports simulations?

Initially, clubs invested more in these sports simulations, and in particular the FIFA license. But today it’s different. The big names in football who invest in esports create structures that participate in competitions in major esports games, such as Rocket League Or League of Legends.