The talks for incorporating the paper napkin at Barcelona’s museum at Spotify Camp Nou broke down and henceforth it was decided that it shall be made available for bidding. (Reuters/AP)
The napkin which a 13-year-old Lionel Messi had signed as an agreement in principle with Barcelona was sold for an eyewatering sum of £762,400.
Auction house Bonhams said the auction was on behalf of Horacio Gaggioli, an agent from Messi’s home country of Argentina who was part of the deal. The starting price was 300,000 pounds (USD 379,000).
As the story goes, the-then Barcelona’s director of football, Carles Rexach didn’t have the paperwork ready in December 2000. In a haste to get the signature of Messi, Rexach used a napkin to get the deal done.
On it was written, “In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and in the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, FC Barcelona’s sporting director, hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any dissenting opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that we keep to the amounts agreed upon.”
The napkin had since been secured in a vault in Andorra and has been part of the club’s rich memorabilia as Messi went on to become the most successful and celebrated player in the club’s history.
“It was the only thing I had available to hand. I saw the only way to relax Jorge was signing something, giving him some proof, so I asked for a napkin from the waiter,” Rexach had told ESPN in 2020 when asked about the choice.
“I told Jorge (Lionel Messi’s father) that my signature was there and that there were witnesses, that with my name I would take direct responsibility, there was nothing else to talk about and to be patient for a few days because Leo could already consider himself a Barca player,” he added.
During his two decades with the club, Messi went on to score 672 goals from his 778 outings, winning 10 LaLiga titles, seven Copas del Rey and four Champions League trophies.
The argentine superstar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021 and then joined Inter Miami in 2023.
