18 May 2024

Napkin used to sign Messi sold for NZ$1.6m

6:50 pm on 18 May 2024
The napkin on which the 13-year-old Argentinian football player Lionel Messi was promised his first contract with FC Barcelona, photographed in London on 8 May, 2024, before its auction. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

The napkin on which the 13-year-old Argentinian football player Lionel Messi was promised his first contract with FC Barcelona, photographed in London on 8 May, 2024, before its auction. Photo: AFP / Adrian Dennis

The napkin on which Barcelona promised to sign Lionel Messi when he was a 13-year-old has been sold for 762,400 pounds (NZ$1,579,000), auction house Bonhams said on Friday.

The napkin was signed in December, 2000 by Barca's former sporting director Carles Rexach and transfer advisor Josep Minguella along with Argentine agent Horacio Gaggioli over lunch at a tennis club.

Messi became one of Barcelona's greatest players, winning over 30 trophies and leaving the Catalan club as their all-time leading scorer with 672 goals.

He also won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards for the world's best player and led Argentina to the World Cup crown in 2022.

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - DECEMBER 18: Lionel Messi of Argentina poses for a photo with the adidas Golden Ball award during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. Mohammed Dabbous / Anadolu Agency (Photo by Mohammed Dabbous / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu Agency via AFP)

Photo: AFP / MOHAMMED DABBOUS

Messi now plays for US club Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.

"Yes, it's a paper napkin, but it's the famous napkin that was at the inception of Lionel Messi's career," Ian Ehling, the head of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams New York, said in a statement.

"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."

-Reuters

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