Paris Saint Germain has disclosed that they had to depend on the fan token and cryptocurrency to sign Lionel Messi to the club.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner, who left Barcelona after failing to reach an agreement with the Catalan club, signed a two-year deal with the Paris club on Tuesday.

The extension will see him net an annual salary of $41 million plus bonuses, and a reported $30 million signing-on fee.

The French club noted that the Argentine’s “welcome package” includes the cryptocurrency ”$PSG Fan Tokens.”

“In a world-first for such a high-profile signing, Leo Messi received a large number of ‘$PSG Fan Tokens,’ the statement read.

According to the club, the inclusion of the $PSG Fan Tokens in the player’s welcome package instantly ties him with millions of Paris Saint-Germain fans around the world.

It has also triggered a price surge in the crypto tokens that PSG first issued to its fans over a year ago.

The $PSG token, created in Jan. 2020 with crypto platform Socios.com, was designed to help PSG build a new fan community.