Liverpool’s Mac Allister contract saga highlights the growing role of blockchain in football player valuations
The club's negotiate-or-sell approach to its Argentine midfielder mirrors the high-stakes dynamics increasingly visible in sports NFT markets and tokenized player assets.
Liverpool FC is preparing to enter contract extension talks with midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, aiming to lock down the Argentine international through 2031. The catch: if Mac Allister doesn’t agree to new terms, the club is reportedly prepared to sell him outright.
The deal on the table
Mac Allister joined Liverpool from Brighton in July 2023 on a five-year contract worth a reported $39M, roughly $7.8M annually. The transfer fee itself came in at $42M. His current agreement runs through June 2028. The proposed extension would push the deal to June 2031. Talks are reportedly scheduled to take place after the World Cup.
Mac Allister signaled in March 2026 that he was “not in a rush” regarding his future at Anfield and confirmed that no active contract discussions were taking place at the time.
Where blockchain enters the picture
Mac Allister’s Sorare digital trading cards, which function as licensed NFTs tied to real-world player performance, have seen recent sales in the range of $23 to $54. Panini Prizm World Cup NFTs featuring him also exist on-chain, though they haven’t been tied to any major cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Sorare has built a platform where users buy, sell, and trade digital player cards that gain or lose value based on actual match performance. The platform operates on the Ethereum blockchain.
What this means for crypto-adjacent sports investors
A confirmed extension to 2031 at a top-four Premier League club would likely create positive price action for Mac Allister’s digital collectibles. A sale to a Saudi Pro League club would probably compress those values, since platform engagement tends to skew toward European leagues.