Lionel Messi, one of the greatest football players of all time, left his childhood club Barcelona in 2021. The Argentine ended his 20-year legendary career with Barcelona. Messi joined Barcelona at the age of 13, and the Spanish club did something extraordinary to get the talent. According to The Guardian, Barcelona signed Messi on a napkin in 2000. Football fans and collectors may now dream of having the historic artefact, as the renowned serviette is expected to go up for auction soon.
The priceless napkin is slated to be auctioned at Bonhams, a famous British auction house, on March 18–27, according to a Marca report. The unique piece of memorabilia will likely be sold for an estimated price of between £300,000 and £500,000.
Horacio Gaggioli, Messi’s representative at the time of signing, reportedly kept the napkin. The napkin has Messi’s signature, as well as the signatures of Carles Rexach, Barcelona’s technical secretary, and Josep Maria Minguella, the talent scout credited with spotting the Argentine.
During his time with Barcelona, Messi became the club’s all-time goal scorer. Messi scored over 650 goals in a Barcelona jersey. The Argentine World Cup winner won 4 Champions League and 11 La Liga titles with Barcelona.
Messi decided to join French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) after his remarkable time at Barcelona. Messi left PSG last year to join Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami.