Messi signed with Barcelona on a napkin that is now up for auction – Telemundo Miami (51)

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LONDON, England – The napkin on which FC Barcelona’s promise to hire Argentine player Lionel Messi for the first time was written will be auctioned online between March 18 and 27 by the London house Bonhams, with a starting price close to at $380,000.

This is considered one of the most important pieces in the history of football, which accounts for the successful football career that the player from Rosario began when he was only 13 years old.

The contract with FC Barcelona in 2000 changed the fortunes of the Catalan club and also of Messi himself, who has become one of the best players of all time, with numerous titles with Barcelona and the Argentine national team, such as the Copa América. and the 2023 Qatar World Cup, as well as eight Ballon d’Or awards.

The commitment to a contract on the napkin was written in blue pen by Carles Rexach, Barcelona’s sporting director.

“In Barcelona, ​​on December 14, 2000 and in the presence of Messrs. Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, technical secretary of FC Barcelona, ​​undertakes under his responsibility and despite some opinions against to sign the player Lionel Messi as long as when we stay within the agreed quantities,” the napkin said.

Horacio Gaggioli was the Argentine agent who brought Messi to Carles Rexach to pay attention to him.

According to Bonhams, this is an unorthodox way to confirm interest in one of the most exciting young players in the world.

However, Messi’s hiring had its obstacles, such as the amount of money that had to be spent on a 13-year-old boy.

Born in 1987 in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, Messi showed his talent from a very young age.

A report from Telemundo 52 Los Angeles gave Levi Sandoval hope of meeting the soccer star during a game in El Salvador.

While playing for his local club, Newell’s Old Boys, at age 12, Messi and his father, Jorge, went to Barcelona for a trial, but negotiations stalled after club officials were not convinced that Messi was worth the investment, says a statement from the auction house.

But then Rexach, Minguella and Gaggioli met for lunch at the tennis club and the former took a paper napkin from a dispenser on the table and began to write.

The napkin, which measured just 6 and a half inches by 6 and a half inches, sealed the player’s union with Barcelona.

FC Barcelona president Joan Gaspart finally confirmed the agreement, this time on paper, while the rest is history.

With Messi, the team added victories. Between 2008 and 2012, they won 14 trophies under Pep Guardiola, becoming one of the greatest teams of all time.

“This is one of the most exciting objects I have ever handled. Yes, it is a paper napkin, but it is the famous napkin that marked the beginning of Lionel Messi’s career. It changed Messi’s life, the future of FC Barcelona, and was instrumental in delivering some of football’s glorious moments for billions of fans around the world,” said Ian Ehling, director of books and manuscripts at Bonhams New York.