Bonhams, a British auction house, announced today, Wednesday, that the napkin on which Lionel Messi signed his first contract to join Barcelona at the age of 13 will be sold at auction in March with a starting price of £300,000 (approximately $381,000). The napkin was signed in December 2000 when Carles Rexach, Barcelona's then-sports director, agreed with Jorge Messi, Messi's father, as well as his agent Horacio Gaggioli, to sign the Argentine teenager who later became the club's all-time top scorer.
This pivotal moment in football history came after Rexach invited Messi's father for lunch due to concerns about Messi's lack of response following preliminary trials with the Spanish club. The napkin, from the Club de Tenis Pompeia, states: "On December 14, 2000, in Barcelona, in the presence of Messrs. Mingueza and Horacio, Carles Rexach, the sports director of FC Barcelona, hereby agrees, under his responsibility and notwithstanding any opposing opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that it is done within the agreed amounts."
The agreement was officially signed, endorsed by the club's president at the time, Joan Gaspart, on the same night. A month later, Barcelona completed the necessary procedures to formally sign Messi, marking the beginning of his 20-year journey at the Catalan club. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner helped Barcelona secure 35 titles, participating in 782 matches and scoring 674 goals.
