Villalba from Argentina, also known as ‘Nicolas99fc,’ has ranked in the top three FIFA players globally since 2018 and has earned US$290,000 to date in esports – Argentina’s second-highest earner.
He joins Niklas Raseck on the Guild FIFA roster to compete in the 1 vs 1 FIFA global series and 2 vs 2 FIFA eClub series.
“FIFA is a highly significant eSport for Guild's pipeline of sponsors and partners, and we are delighted to be strengthening our position in the European rankings with Nicolas, one of the most consistently high-performing players within FIFA,” said Kal Hourd, Guild chief executive.
Villalba’s most notable international wins include the FIFA 19 PS4 playoffs and the FIFA 19 eClub World Cup, whilst he has over 170,000 social media followers across Twitch, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Previously, Villalba played at FC Basel E-sports in Switzerland before signing a one-year contract with Guild with the option to extend a further year.
He will move from Argentina to London to compete in Europe – one of the first moves of its kind – to benefit from its academy coaching with the aim to be the best FIFA player worldwide.
"We are so pleased to welcome Nicolas to Guild and support his move to the U.K. to further develop his skills and talent as a player through our academy system,” Hourd added.
FIFA is the best-selling sports video game franchise of all time, with EA having recorded over 325mln sales of FIFA in its 17 years, as well as being the most sold video game in the UK last year, according to EA.