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Bidding began on a napkin on which Barcelona wrote a pledge to sign Lionel Messi, who was 13 years old at the time, before he became one of football’s greats, with early bids reaching nearly $300,000.
The handkerchief was signed in December 2000 when Carles Reshak, Barcelona’s sporting director at the time, agreed with Horacio Gagioli, the player’s agent, to include the Argentine teenager, who later became the club’s all-time top scorer.
The bidding price for the document, which British auction house Bonhams described as “blue ink on a Spanish wax napkin,” reached 220,000 pounds ($274,824) shortly after the auction opened, according to the house’s website.
Online bidding ends on May 17, and the indicative price is between 300,000 and 500,000 pounds sterling.
“It was never legally binding (for Barcelona), but it shows the deep emotional connection or the beginning of the deep connection that developed between Messi and Barcelona,” said Mark Sands, chief marketing officer at Bonhams.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner helped Barcelona achieve 35 titles, as he participated in 782 matches and scored 674 goals.
Sands added: “If you love football, you will know everything about Lionel Messi and realize that he introduced generations to football… If you want a piece of this history, this is the thing you should get.”