Football legend and Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has officially become the co-owner of Argentine organisation KRÜ Esports.
The Inter Miami forward will partner up with former Argentine footballer Sergio Agüero, the owner of KRÜ Esports. The founder made the announcement through a video on the official X page of the organisation.
This marks the entry of one of the most famous sporting public figures in the world into esports and is a key moment for the industry overall in terms of exposure. In less than four hours after the release of the video, the X post totalled over 10m views and more than 120,000 likes.
“I am happy to share a club with Leo, albeit in a new stage and with new challenges. It is an honor that he is part of KRÜ,” commented Agüero in the blog post on the KRÜ website. “He is the greatest football player in history and also a great friend. His presence is significant because it embodies values such as perseverance, humility, and resilience. He is a figure that inspires everyone and will be a great contribution to the scene in general.”
The blog post also mentioned a celebration party scheduled on December 16th to celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of KRÜ Esports’ new phase.
Whilst playing for English football club Manchester City, Aguero began streaming during the COVID lockdowns in 2019 and ever since has invested in the esports space, notably founding KRÜ Esports in 2020. Regarded as one of the most influential LATAM esports organisations, KRÜ field rosters in VALORANT, becoming a partner team for VCT Americas and operating a female team, KRÜ Blaze, in VCT Changers: LATAM.
The organisation also has a Rocket League division which finished in the top 12 at the RL Championship Series 2022-23 earlier this August.
Due to its great following, KRÜ Esports also boasts a list of key partners such as payment card services VISA, clothing brand Puma, streaming media service Disney+, gaming brand Aorus and Logitech G, beer producer Budweiser, Web3 esports platform FITCHIN, and esports analytics company Shikenso Analytics.
With Lionel Messi joining KRÜ Esports, it’s inevitable to see the team gain a massive following. But ultimately, it will be crucial to see how the organisation will be taking advantage of the Argentinian player’s popularity going forward.
