A NAPKIN that sealed Lionel Messi’s transfer to Barcelona at the age of 13 has been put up for auction.
And the bidding for the piece of footballing history will begin at £300,000.
The napkin was written on by Barcelona sporting director Carles Rexach and served as the club’s commitment to sign the young Argentine.
The promise proved to be the most important signing in Barcelona’s history, with many considering Messi to be the greatest footballer of all time.
He won a cabinet full of trophies with Barcelona before leaving in 2021 to join PSG.
His haul included four Champions Leagues and ten LaLiga titles with the club.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
The 16.5 x 16.5cm napkin has been listed for sale by Horacio Gaggioli, the agent who brought Messi to the attention of Barcelona.
Gaggioli was at the table when the ‘document’ was signed.
The item will be sold by online auction house Bonhams in March, with a starting price of £300k.
Messi came to the attentions of Barca scouts as a 12-year-old while playing for Newell’s Old Boys.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS & NEW CUSTOMER BONUSES
He was flown to Barcelona for trials in September 2000 with his father Jorge, but negotiations stalled.
Sporting director Rexach was convinced of Messi’s talent but other board members were unconvinced due to the player’s slight stature.
He was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency which would have required the club to pay for his treatment.
And board members were concerned about the prospect of bringing such a young boy over from Argentina to Catalonia.
In December 2000, with Messi’s father growing frustrated, he issued an ultimatum to Rexach that the club either signed him that day or lost him.
Rexach did not have paper with him, so wrote the promise to sign him out on a napkin.
Written in Spanish, the note read: “In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and in the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, FC Barcelona’s sporting director, hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any dissenting opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that we keep to the amounts agreed upon.”
The agreement was then confirmed by the club president Joan Gaspart that night.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Ian Ehling, head of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams New York, said: “This is one of the most thrilling items I have ever handled. Yes, it’s a paper napkin, but it’s the famous napkin that was at the inception of Lionel Messi’s career.
“It changed the life of Messi, the future of FC Barcelona, and was instrumental in giving some of the most glorious moments of football to billions of fans around the globe.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
