Lionel Messi’s First Barcelona Agreement  Napkin to be Sold at Auction

The napkin upon which Lionel Messi’s first Barcelona agreement was informally written will be sold at auction.

Bonhams a privately owned, London-based international auction house will run the auction between March 18-27, with a starting price of $381k, on behalf of Argentine player agent Horacio Gaggioli.

The agreement was reached on December 14, 2000, with Barcelona director Carles Rexach desperate for the club to sign Messi, then aged 13. Messi had impressed during his two-week trial with Barcelona in September 2000, but the club was initially reluctant to sign such a young, non-European player.

Rexach became concerned that the Catalan club would miss out on the signing of Messi, who had returned to his home city of Rosario in Argentina. Rexach invited Gaggioli to dinner in Barcelona to make a final decision over Messi, but there was one problem, Rexach did not have time to draw up or print out a contract but needed the relevant signatures on a document that would later become legally binding