The auction house Bonhams, based in New York, reported on the sale of a historical item from the world of football and with considerable importance and weight: the napkin that symbolizes the first contract between Lionel Messi and the Barcelona Football Club. So far it is known that his bidding starts at 300,000 pounds, equivalent to more than 350,000 euros. The auction is planned to take place from March 18 to 27.
This unconventional document, written on a napkin, was the beginning of one of the greatest stories from the world of football and especially in the Blaugrana entity thanks to the Argentine idol from Rosario, Lionel Messi.
A historical article
“In Barcelona, on December 14, 2000 and in the presence of Messrs. Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, sports director of FC Barcelona, undertakes under its responsibility and despite any opinion to the contrary, to sign the player Lionel Messi, as long as we remain within the agreed amounts,” reads part of the content. This decision not only changed the destiny of La Pulga, but also marked a golden era for Barça.
According to Ian Ehling, director of books and manuscripts at Bonhams New York, this napkin does not mean simply a testimony of a crucial moment in the history of sports, but the beginning of the great career of one of the best players and athletes in the entire world.
“Messi had arrived in Barcelona in September 2000 to carry out tests at Barcelona, but we had to wait until mid December to reach an agreement between the Messi family and Barcelona. There was no paper available, so this paper napkin represents the first informal contract,” he explained.
Messi’s awards throughout history
Lionel Messi, winner of the Ballon d’Or a total of 8 times and is also considered by many to be one of the best players in history, marked a before and after in the culé entity. The man from Rosario became FC Barcelona’s top scorer and until his departure in mid-2021 for Paris Saint Germain, the Argentine was the spearhead in winning a total of 34 titles (10 Spanish Leagues, seven Spanish Super Cups, seven Copas del Rey, four Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups and three European Super Cups).
In an interview conducted by the Argentine media Infobae, Horacio Gaggioli, Argentine representative at that time, He let us know the whole history of the most famous napkin in the world:
“They returned to the country in October, after two weeks of testing. The entire month of October and November passed and Barcelona did not react. Everything seemed to indicate that they were not going to hire him, because he was little, because he had his little problems… Everything was negative,” he began his story.
Either they sign it or they sign it!
In the first week of December, Gaggioli put much more pressure on sports director Carles Rexach so that they could sign the Argentine once and for all. “If they want it, let them commit. If not, we will look for another alternative,” was the premise that came out from Rosario.
“We met for lunch on December 14 and I told him ‘we’ve come this far. Either you decide as sports director or we go somewhere else.’. That’s when the famous napkin thing was born. That piece of paper changed the contemporary history of the Barcelona Football Club,” said the representative.
“I was involved with several teams. I had no problems talking to Atlético Madrid or Real Madrid. What interested us with Montero and Soldini was that it was in Spain. When a family leaves South America and places them in England, for example, things are different. If Spain is already hard, imagine England, with a different culture and language,” he commented.
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