A napkin on which the first contract between then-13-year-old Lionel Messi and Barcelona was unofficially written will be auctioned in March with a starting price of $381,000, British auction house Bonhams announced today.
The piece of paper, which is one of the most important documents in football history, was signed in 2000 when Barcelona's sporting director at the time, Carles Rexach, reached an agreement with father Jorge and manager Horacio Gaggioli to sign the Argentine teenager, who in the following years became the top scorer in the history of the Catalan club and one of the best footballers in the world of all time.
The key moment in Messi's football history came when Rexach invited Jorge Messi to lunch due to his concern over the lack of a transfer agreement at the Spanish club. "In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and in the presence of Messrs Minguel and Horacio, FC Barcelona Sporting Director Carles Rexach agreed, on his responsibility and notwithstanding any contrary opinion, to sign a contract with the player Lionel Messi, provided we keep the agreed amounts," reads the napkin with the logo of the Pompeii Tennis Club.
The napkin bears the signatures of Carles Rexach and Josep Mingel, Barcelona's transfer advisor at the time, as well as Argentina manager Horacio Gajoli. The deal, which was ratified by then-Barcelona president Juan Gaspar, was officially signed that evening, and a month later, Barcelona completed Leo Messi's contract, marking the start of his 20-year stay at the Catalan club. Messi with the Barcelona shirt won 34 trophies and played a record 782 matches, in which he scored 674 goals. /BGNES
