Thiago Almada’s World Cup run highlights the growing intersection of football and digital collectibles
The Argentine midfielder’s rising profile at the 2026 World Cup is quietly boosting interest in sports NFTs and blockchain-based fantasy platforms
Add us on Google
byEditorial Team
Jul. 12, 2026
Thiago Almada is having a moment. The Atlético Madrid attacking midfielder sat down ahead of Argentina’s World Cup semifinal against England to discuss his journey through the tournament, revealing what coach Lionel Scaloni and teammate Enzo Fernández told him before he entered the match against Switzerland
Almada’s trajectory reads like the platonic ideal of a modern football career. He debuted for Argentina in 2022 and was part of the squad that won the World Cup in Qatar. After a loan stint at Lyon, he joined Atlético Madrid in July 2025
In the 2025-26 La Liga season, he’s made 27 appearances and scored 3 goals. Reports from June 2026 indicated that Saudi club Al Ahli was negotiating a potential €30M transfer to bring Almada to the Saudi Pro League
Almada isn’t launching a token or partnering with a DeFi protocol. He’s featured in Panini America’s licensed World Cup Prizm NFT trading cards, the digital extension of the physical card collecting tradition. He also appears on Sorare, the fantasy football platform where users buy, sell, and trade blockchain-based player cards whose value fluctuates with real-world performance
Then there’s the other end of the spectrum. A Solana-based meme token called $ALMADA exists, trading at approximately $0.0000019 with a daily volume of roughly $0.16 and a market cap of about $1,940
The potential €30M transfer to Al Ahli adds another layer. Saudi Pro League moves have historically been polarizing for player card values on platforms like Sorare, as the league gets less fantasy football engagement than La Liga
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
