Countdown in Times Square to the live auction of Barca's first ever NFT on 29 July at Sotheby's NY

THE auction for the Club's first ever NFT, the digital artwork ln a Way, Immortal, featuring Johan Cruyff, is set to take place on 29 July at the Sotheby's New York auction house. The countdown was feted in the legendary Times Square through two 30 adverts, watched live by President Joan Laporta, Vice President Rafael Yuste, Jordi Cruyff and his son Julen Cruyff, and the first team players, Sergio Busquets and Pedri, along with Eric Sas and Alan Company, BCN Visuals founders. Both the Nasdaq screen, the most Instagrammed corner of the world, and the 221 Clear Channel screen lit up to announce the live auction from the prestigious auction house at 2 p.m. (ET).

Bidding for In a Way, Immortal started online from Thursday 21 July and will end this evening during live auction, at Sotheby's, when the winning bidder will be confirmed. The NFT recreates the legendary moment in the FC Barcelona stadium on 22 December 1973, when Johan Cruyff hung in the air in front of the Atletico Madrid keeper, Miguel Reina, before scoring an impossible goal that has entered football folklore in Barcelona and across the world.

Excitement builds in the heart of New York

The two screens in Times Square showed an audio-visual piece that created a lot of excitement among the public walking along Broadway. It referred to the live auction, showing the message 'In a Way, Immortal. Live auction in New York', alongside the Club badge, the date of the auction and the logo of the famous auction house. A golden statue of Johan Cruyff appeared from inside a gold soccer ball that bounced to the beat of the music, with the Camp Nau stadium in the background, before the ad ended by also showing nft.fcbarcelona.com, the microsite containing all the information about the NFT, as well as a countdown to today's live auction plus a link to follow it live.

The ad has been shown on the Nasdaq screen since Monday 25 July and it will be repeated 334 times a day up to Saturday 30 July, including a special viewing on Thursday 28 July for an hour between 6.30pm and 7.30pm (ET) on the 221 Clear Channel screen.

The Club's first ever NFT

The high quality piece, titled In a Way, Immortal and inspired by a quote from Johan Cruyff, was produced by the Club in collaboration with BCN Visuals, a strategic innovation partner, and Digital Superstudio, who developed the NFT's cinematographic aesthetic. The buyer of this unique artwork will also be gifted a number of VIP Club-based benefits and experiences and will be named a Barca Digital Ambassador. The project was made possible with the involvement of the World of Johan Cruyff.

100% Bari;a experiences for the owner of the NFT

In addition to being the sole owner of the NFT, the Bari;a Digital Ambassador will be able to enjoy a number of 'money can't buy' experiences. FC Barcelona will incorporate in the NFT's smart contract a set of utilities such as Meet & Greets, visits to La Masia, hospitality rights (for a minimum of five years), the right to play at the Spotify Camp Nau and an official handover of the ball before a friendly match, among other benefits.