Six former Sevilla players have been charged in connection with a Shirtum cryptocurrency project fraud, with investors potentially losing over €24 million.

According to a report by Cryptopolitan, a Barcelona court is investigating six former Sevilla FC players for alleged involvement in a Shirtum cryptocurrency project fraud. Newly filed criminal charges allege the project sold fake NFTs and manipulated tokens to investors, causing losses exceeding €24 million (approximately $28 million). The players named in the complaint include Papu Gómez, Lucas Ocampos, Ivan Rakitić, Nico Pareja, Alberto Moreno, and Javier Saviola. El Correo de Andalucía also reported that Diego Perotti and Marcelo Guedes were involved in promoting the project. Thirteen Spanish investors have filed a lawsuit in Barcelona's Fifth Investigative Court, claiming the complete loss of their funds. Shirtum reportedly advertised itself as a platform for trading digital football collectibles and sold "cinematic NFTs" containing player photos and audio recordings, each priced at approximately €450. However, the complainant claims that these NFTs were never minted on any blockchain and cannot be transferred or resold. Furthermore, Shirtum promoters previously received approximately €3 million in BNB from investors to develop iOS and Android mobile applications, but the applications were never launched, and the funds have not been refunded or their whereabouts explained.