Auction Set for Legendary Lionel Messi FC Barcelona Contract on Historic Paper Napkin with a $380,000 Starting Bid. -

The iconic paper napkin documenting Lionel Messi’s pivotal agreement to join FC Barcelona is slated for auction, with an opening bid of $380,000 (£300,000). Auction house Bonhams will oversee the sale in March.

The 6.5 x 6.5-inch napkin, signed in blue ballpoint pen by then sporting director of Barça, Carles Rexach, captures the commitment made on December 14, 2000, to secure the talents of the then 13-year-old Messi. Rexach wrote, “In Barcelona, on December 14, 2000, in the presence of Mssrs. Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, technical secretary of FC Barcelona, hereby agrees under his responsibility and against some dissenting opinions to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that we keep to the amounts agreed.”

Signatures of Horacio Gaggioli, the Argentine agent who brought Messi to Barcelona’s attention, and Josep Minguella, the transfer advisor to the club at that time, also grace the historic napkin. Rexach and Minguella organized Messi’s initial audition with the Blaugrana in September 2000.

Joan Gaspart, Barcelona’s president at the time, confirmed and sealed the agreement later that night, marking a historic moment that would shape the future of football.

Messi, nurtured in Barça’s La Masia academy, went on to become one of the greatest players in football history. Making his senior team debut in 2004 at the age of 16, he became the youngest player to represent the club in an official match. Messi’s legendary career with Barcelona included 778 appearances, breaking goal-scoring records, and winning 35 trophies, including 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.

Ian Ehling, head of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams New York, expressed enthusiasm about the item, stating, “Yes, it’s a paper napkin, but it’s the famous napkin that was at the inception of Lionel Messi’s career. 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.”