Lionel Messi is backing the launch of the world鈥檚 first blockchain smartphone.
The Barcelona star is a brand ambassador for Israeli start-up Sirin Labs, which is launching the $1,000 Finney phone in Barcelona on November 29th.
Its previous device was the $16,000 Solarin smartphone, launched in 2016 and aimed at high net-worth individuals who wanted 鈥渕ilitary grade security鈥�.
The Finney phone, named after聽cryptocurrency pioneer Hal Finney, will look to compete with premium consumer smartphones from the likes of Apple and Samsung.
It has an inbuilt cryptocurrency wallet viewed on a screen which slides out.
Sirin said: 鈥淎fter a significant amount of time discussing a wide range of issues, Messi saw the power, professionalism and future within Sirin Labs, and it was for these reasons he agreed to represent us to the masses.鈥�
Acknowledging that sometimes apparent celebrity endorsements in the crypto space can lead to scams, a blog post continued: 鈥淚f you鈥檝e followed Messi鈥檚 career at all, you鈥檇 know he doesn鈥檛 just put his name on anything to make a buck.
鈥淎s the greatest of all time in the most popular聽sport in the world, you can imagine the type of vetting process that he and his team have to ensure they鈥檙e not going to associate with something criminal, illicit, or anything that might tarnish his stellar brand.鈥�