Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest football player of all time as he has been able to prove himself on and off the pitch.
As the Argentina international continue to shine with Inter Miami in the MLS, the legendary signed napkin that sealed his move to Barcelona as a teenage prodigy has been bought for £762,400.
This latest development was confirmed by auction house Bonhams. The starting price for the ‘world’s most iconic napkin’ was £300,00 but such is its status that it sold for more than double.
On it is a pledge, signed in blue ink, from Barcelona’s then-director Carles Rexach in December to sign 13-year-old Messi from Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina.
It was also signed by transfer advisor Josep Minguella and Argentine agent Horacio Gaggioli during lunch at a tennis club.
A photograph taken on May 8, 2024 shows the napkin on which the 13-year-old Argentinian football player Lionel Messi was promised his first contract with FC Barcelona, during a photocall at Bonhams, in London, ahead of its auction. The original napkin in blue ink is being offered at Bonhams on behalf of Argentine agent, Horacio Gaggioli, in an online auction starting on 8th and running until 17th May. The starting price is £300,000. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
The napkin was the beginning of Lionel Messi’s extraordinary career in the world of football.
‘Yes, it’s a paper napkin, but it’s the famous napkin that was at the inception of Lionel Messi’s career,’ said Ian Ehling, head of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams New York.
‘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.’
It is almost impossible to picture an elite football club doing transfer business on a napkin nowadays.
Messi spent 17 seasons with Barca’s first team, becoming their top scorer with 672 goals and winning 30 trophies. He moved to PSG in 2021 and joined Inter Miami in 2023.
