Barcelona, July 30 (BUS) – Spanish football club Barcelona has auctioned off a digital art piece depicting iconic Johan Cruyff for $693,000 as Barcelona seeks fresh revenue to fight its way out of its massive debt.
Barcelona said the auction that Sotheby’s is running in New York for the first NFT, or non-fungible token, closed at $550,000 on Friday. The auctioneer’s fee increased the final sale price to $693,000, according to the Associated Press.
The piece depicts Cruyff’s memorable goal in 1973 when the great Dutchman took to the air with his leg outstretched to score.
In the photo, Cruyff appears to have been dipped in gold. NFT is called “In a Way, Immortal”, inspired by a quote by Cruyff, who made his mark as a player and coach at Barcelona.
Barcelona is looking for new forms of revenue as it struggles to repay 1 billion euros ($1 billion) in debt.
This included the sale of the Camp Nou naming rights to audio streaming service Spotify and the sale of 25% of the TV rights to La Liga for 25 years.
NFT is a unique digital image that cannot be copied. There is a thriving market for collectors and artists interested in this form of digital art.
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