Lionel Messi’s first Barcelona contract signed on serviette set to promote for £500k

On Mar 8, 2024

The legendary serviette that doubled as Lionel Messi’s first Barcelona contract is about to promote for an unimaginable £500,000.

Messi arrived in Spain as a prodigious 13-year-old, a junior sensation with hometown membership Newell’s Old Boys, after Barcelona director Charly Rexach supplied a contract written on a serviette. As nicely as Rexach, it was additionally signed by Josep Minguella, a switch advisor to the Spanish membership, and agent Horacio Gaggioli, who really useful the Argentine.

The relaxation, as they are saying, is historical past as Messi went on to grow to be, within the view of many, the best footballer in historical past with a string of honours together with a number of La Liga and Champions League titles and, ultimately, the World Cup together with his nation.

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The serviette is now up for grabs at public sale, however you’ll want deep pockets to get your arms on the scrap of soccer historical past. It goes underneath the hammer from March 18 with public sale home Bonhams with a beginning value of £300,000.

Ian Ehling, a director at Bonhams, expects the serviette to “sell for even more money”. He mentioned: “This is among the most thrilling objects I’ve ever dealt with. Yes, it is a paper serviette, nevertheless it’s the well-known serviette that was on the inception of Lionel Messi’s profession.

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The famous Lionel Messi napkin contract is set to sell for at least £500,000 — The well-known Lionel Messi serviette contract is about to promote for a minimum of £500,000
(Image: Sky Sports)

“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.”

Bids of $635,000 (just under £500,000) have already been lodged. The napkin reads: “In Barcelona on December 14, 2000 and in the presence of Messrs. Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, agreed under his responsibility and without regard to dissenting opinions to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that: that we stick to the agreed sums.”

Lionel Messi with the Champions League trophy — Lionel Messi received all of it with Barcelona
(Image: GETTY)

While it turned out to be a dream transfer for Messi – now of Inter Miami – it wasn’t all plain crusing for the teen throughout his early days in Catalonia. Initially affected by homesickness and hampered by a development hormone deficiency, Messi let his soccer do the speaking, working rings round his vaunted team-mates in coaching.

His predecessor as Barca talisman, Ronaldinho, took a shine to the shy teenager and inspired then boss Frank Rijkaard to advertise him to the primary staff in 2005.