His holding company based in San Francisco will invest in sports, media and technology sectors across the globe.

San Francisco-based Play Time Sports-Tech HoldCo LLC is a holding company created by soccer superstar Lionel Messi to explore and invest in ventures that include football teams or football technology, said a Bloomberg report.

The VC firm will be run by Razmig Hovaghimian, partner at venture capital firm Graph Ventures. Michael Marquez, founding partner of investment bank Code Advisors LLC, will be a special adviser.

“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,” Messi said in a statement.

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

Serena Williams

Serena Willams, tennis megastar, plans to focus on her VC firm once she retires from tennis after a quarter century and 23 Grand Slam singles titles.

Known as Serena Ventures, the firm has the motto “Play to Win,” and has invested in many promising startups. It has also raised $111 million of outside financing this year for its investing activity.

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