Lionel Messi’s Barcelona napkin, used to promise his first contract with club at age 13, sells for HK$7.6m at auction
- Napkin, signed in December 2000, was a promise that the Catalans would sign the Argentinian
- Messi made his Barca debut in 2004 and left in 2021 as the record goal scorer and appearance maker
The napkin used to pen Lionel Messi’s first contract with Barcelona has sold at auction for £762,400 (HK$7.6 million).
Signed in blue ink, the napkin was used in December 2000 by then Barca director Charley Rexach to sign a 13-year-old Messi.
Also present are the signatures of Josep Minguella, a transfer adviser for the La Liga giants and agent Horacio Gaggioli.
The napkin had belonged to Gaggioli, who put it up for auction at London-based company Bonhams with a starting price of £300,000.
Messi joined Barcelona a month later and left in 2021 with a legacy that has seen him considered by many to be the greatest footballer in history.
He made his first-team debut in 2004 at the age of 17 and was part of a side which won their first league title in six years.
