“I am excited to extend our roots into Silicon Valley" - PSG superstar Lionel Messi breaks silence after creating holding company to invest in sports, media, and technology 

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi issued a statement after creating sports, media, and technology investment company Play Time Sports-Tech HoldCo LLC.

Based in San Francisco, the company's main motive will be to help startup founders invest in football-tech companies.

In a recently released statement, here's what the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner had to say:

“I am excited to extend our roots into Silicon Valley, and I am thrilled that Play Time will collaborate with daring entrepreneurs from all over the world." (h/t BNN Bloomberg)

Razmig Hovaghimian will run the company. He is a partner of the venture capital firm Graph Venture. He is also the founder of Matchday.com.

Michael Marquez will be the special advisor for the company. Marquez is the co-founder of investment bank Code Advisors LLC.

Hovaghinian said in a recent statement:

"From the time I met Leo and the Messi family in 2017, it was clear that their vision for the future is bold, They want to continue to have a direct and lasting impact on and off the pitch.”

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PSG superstar Lionel Messi wasn't nominated in the Ballon d'Or top 30 for the first time since 2005

PSG superstar Lionel Messi

PSG superstar Lionel Messi wasn't nominated in the Ballon d'Or top 30 for the 2022 edition of the award. Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema was the eventual winner of the honor, winning the prize for the first time in his career.

Messi, meanwhile, was the winner of the award last term. However, the criteria of the award changed this year as the organizers focused on an individual's seasonal performance rather than their stats for a calendar year.

Lionel Messi joined PSG last summer after Barcelona were unable to renew his contract due to La Liga's financial wage cap.

He endured a difficult first season in France, scoring 11 goals and providing 15 assists in 34 games.

Messi is the record winner of the Ballon d'Or, lifting the prize for seven times in his legendary career. However, he wasn't even in the final 30 this year.

The snub might signal the end of an era, as the Argentine is now 35. Whether he actually lifts the trophy again in his career remains to be seen.

He has gotten off to a good start to his campaign this season, scoring eight goals and providing eight assists in 13 games for the Parisians.