Christian Hartmann/Reuters
- A flopped NFT project promoted by Juventus soccer player Paul Pogba has plunged one investor deep into debt.
- The investor and Pogba fan said he lost three months of wages thanks to the rookie investment – and has had to move back home.
- "The main reason we invested was Pogba," he said, referring to the NFT collection CryptoDragons that's plunged in value since its inception.
A failed crypto scheme promoted by soccer player Paul Pogba has plunged one investor into so much debt that he now lives with his parents again, according to The Athletic.
Berat Kurnaz took pleasure in socializing with friends and travelling from time to time – but now he can't do that any of that thanks to one rookie investment decision that lost him three months of wages, he said.
"I can't buy anything. I can't do anything. I'm just working, working, working," Kurnaz said. "When you don't have money, you lose more money. You can't think straight," he added.
Two years ago, the Juventus midfielder endorsed an NFT collection called CryptoDragons to his 10 million Twitter followers, saying he had bought his first ever NFT, an "an egg with a dragon inside." Shortly after, Kurnaz said his cousin suggested they invest in the NFT project, leading him to borrow $2,000 from a bank.
At the time, one of the digital assets sold for 35 ETH, or $162,000, according to Pogba. Now, CryptoDragons sell on OpenSea for as little as 0.003 ETH, or $5.
The scheme's worthlessness tracks a deteriorated crypto industry thanks to a string of company collapses and tighter central bank monetary policies which crimped investor appetite for high risk assets.
"The main reason we invested was Pogba," Kurnaz said. "It wasn't like someone was impersonating him online, he actually did videos for it. "We thought he must know the people doing this, this must be legit," he added.
At 26-years-old, Kurnaz said he works all the time to pay off his debt, stays in and plays video games in his downtime, per the outlet.
Pogba isn't the only Premier League player to have promoted a NFT collection that has ended up in the dumps. Former Chelsea captain John Terry's "Ape Kids Football Club" NFT collection crashed 90% in a single month, and individual "Ape Kids" can now be bought for $0.098 ETH, or $16, on OpenSea.