A class action lawsuit against football player Cristiano Ronaldo is being filed in the United States due to his endorsement of Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange globally.
The plaintiffs contend that investing with his support resulted in losses for them.
In damages, they are requesting “a sum exceeding” $1 billion (£790 million).
In November 2022, these digital tokens bearing Ronaldo’s shirt number and initials were made available. Within a year, its value has dropped to just $1 (£0.79) from their initial price of $77 (£60.76). The plaintiffs say that Ronaldo’s involvement led to the enormous losses and that it caused them to make riskier investments. They have accumulated damages that surpass $1 billion.
Ronaldo stated that the football player will thank supporters “for all the years of support” when Binance announced in November 2022 the launch of its first “CR7” collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in collaboration with him.
Ronaldo promised potential investors that “we are going to change the NFT game and take football to the next level” in a social media video announcing the collaboration.
Ronaldo’s social media-shared remark regarding the NFT range sought to transform the NFT game and raise football to previously unheard-of heights. But claims contend that Ronaldo withheld an important piece of information from the public—namely, the amount of money he made from this partnership.
In conjunction with Binance, the lawsuit claims that Ronaldo not only actively supported but also offered and sold unregistered stocks. It further states that searches for the cryptocurrency exchange increased dramatically—up to a 500% increase—after the token release, which was supposedly caused by Ronaldo’s support.
Despite legal turmoil, as per reports, his move to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League remains pivotal, sparking a trend of Premier League stars migrating to the Middle East.
Furthermore, Ronaldo made hints about a potential partnership with Binance through a recent social media post, despite the legal issues.
