One of the greatest footballers of all time, Lionel Messi enjoyed some of the best days of his career at his former club FC Barcelona.
A bonafide Barcelona legend, Messi rewrote history at the club, inspiring them to numerous titles in what was a record-breaking stint. The Argentine icon joined Barcelona at the age of 13 and had to relocate from Argentina to Spain to join the club’s famous La Masia academy.
Interestingly, Messi’s first-ever contract with FC Barcelona was written on a napkin and signed by his agent along with the club executives. It was done to reassure his father, Jorge Messi that Messi would be signed by the famous club. That informal yet special contract napkin is now up for sale and is set to be auctioned online. The starting price of the napkin will be 300,000 pounds ($379,000).
All you need to know about auction of Messi’s Barcelona contract
The napkin on which Messi was offered his first-ever contract at FC Barcelona will be auctioned off by British auction house Bonhams in an online auction from March 18-27. The auction is being staged on behalf of Horacio Gaggioli, an Argentine football agent, who was part of the deal when Barcelona signed Messi as a 13-year-old.
The contract which was prepared and signed on a napkin was created on December 14, 2000, when Messi’s agent Gaggioli met with another agent Josep Maria Minguella and Barcelona’s then sporting director, Carles Rexach when the trio met at a tennis club in Barcelona. The contract had to be prepared on a napkin and signed off immediately to reassure his father.