2024-02-01T07:04:36+00:00
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/ The transfer of Argentine star Lionel Messi to Barcelona remains one of the most important deals in the history of football, and the strangest thing is that its details were written on a paper napkin.
British auction house Bonhams announced that the handkerchief on which Lionel Messi signed his first contract to join Barcelona when he was 13 years old will be sold at auction next March.
The auction will start at £300,000 ($381,000).
The Spanish network “La Vanguardia” indicated that Messi’s former agent, Horacio Gaggioli, kept the handkerchief for 24 years, but decided to rely on Bonhams to sell it between March 18 and 27.
The napkin was signed in December 2000, when Barcelona’s then sporting director Carles Rexach agreed with Messi’s father Jorge Messi and his agent Horacio Gaggioli to sign the Argentine teenager who would go on to become the club’s all-time leading scorer.
The pivotal moment in football history came after Reschak invited Messi’s father to lunch due to his concerns about the player’s lack of response after Messi underwent initial trials with the Spanish club.
On the napkin of the Pompeia Tennis Club it was written: “On December 14, 2000 in Barcelona and in the presence of Messrs. Minguilla and Horacio, Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any contrary opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, on condition that it is done for the agreed sums.”
The agreement was officially signed and ratified by then club president Joan Gaspart on the same night.
A month later, Barcelona completed the signing of Messi to begin his 20-year journey at the Catalan club.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner helped Barcelona win 35 titles, making 782 appearances and scoring 674 goals.
ℹ️ | LaVanguardia Messi’s first contract with Barcelona, signed on a napkin, will be auctioned on March 18th. Starting price: €350,000, expected to reach up to €650,000. pic.twitter.com/W7glzrYZeI
— BD Albiceleste 🇧🇩💙🇦🇷 (@bd_albiceleste) January 31, 2024