Lionel Messi signed his very first contract with FC Barcelona in 2000. One detail makes that contract even more special than it already is: he signed it on a napkin. That napkin has now been auctioned for an absolute mega amount of 890,000 euros.
Messi was thirteen years old when Carles Rexach, then technical director of Barcelona, first saw the little Argentinian play. The story is now known. Because Messi's father Jorge wanted more certainty than a verbal agreement, scribbles had to be made.
Rexach met the impatient Jorge in a restaurant and asked the waiter for a piece of paper on which some things could be recorded. Eventually he came out with the now famous napkin, after which Messi signed his first contract with Barcelona.
“Jorge was, understandably, a bit angry. He told me that his heart had sunk and he was thinking about leaving. I gave him my word that we would present him with a contract and as proof I asked the waiter something to write ”, stated Rexach.
Signing Messi ultimately turned out to be a golden move for the Catalans. Was employed by Barcelona The flea Ten times national champion, he won the Champions League four times and captured the Golden Ball six times.
Messi's special first contract piece has now been auctioned. The napkin was sold for 726,000 pounds at the British auction house Bonhams in London. That is approximately 890,000 euros.
“Yes, it's a paper napkin, but it's the famous napkin that launched Lionel Messi's career,” explained Ian Ehling of Bonhams auction house. “It changed Messi's life, the future of FC Barcelona and helped bring billions of fans around the world some of football's most glorious moments.”
Lionel Messi's famous contract napkin
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