It’s not a good day to be Cristiano Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was slapped with a whopping $1 billion class-action lawsuit for his part in promoting NFTs issued by the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, stating the sportsman’s promotion of Binance was deceptive and unlawful. “Evidence now reveals that Binance’s fraud was only able to reach such heights through the offer and sale of unregistered securities, with the willing help and assistance of some of the wealthiest, powerful, and recognized organizations and celebrities across the globe – just like defendant Ronaldo,” the suit reads.
The Portuguese star partnered with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in November 2022, followed by a highly publicized launch. His NFT “CR7” collection launched just ahead of the 2022 World Cup, resulting in a 500% increase in online searches. As expected, the NFTs sold out within the first week, the suit claims. 2023 started on a dismal note for Binance as the company was accused of operating as an unregistered securities exchange and violating a slew of US securities laws in a lawsuit from regulators, per The Guardian.
The crypto exchange had to part with a whopping $4 billion in settlement. Still, Ronaldo promoted Binance on his official website and social media platforms. Most recently, on X/Twitter, where he recently wrote he was “cooking something up” with the crypto exchange on Tuesday. Who could’ve guessed it would be a lawsuit for endorsing worthless NFTs? Representatives for Al Nassr forward declined to comment.
