The soccer team Barcelona promised to recruit 13-year-old Lionel Messi, who went on to become one of the best players in history, on a napkin. Early bids on the napkin reached around $300,000. The bidding started on Wednesday.
When Horacio Gaggioli, the agent, and Carles Rexach, the then-sporting director of Barcelona, decided to sign the Argentine youngster who would become the team’s all-time greatest scorer in December 2000, the napkin was signed.
Shortly after the sale began, the paper, which auction house Bonhams characterized as “blue ink on a standard Spanish waxy napkin,” was up for bid at 220,000 pounds ($274,824.00), according to the auctioneer’s website.
The estimated price of the online sale is between 300,000 and 500,000 pounds, and it ends on May 17.
“It was never legally binding, but emotionally it represents the deep link or the beginning of the deep link, that Messi had with Barcelona,” said Bonhams Chief Marketing Officer Marc Sands.
Messi made a record 782 appearances and scored 674 goals to help Barcelona win 35 trophies. Messi currently plays for Inter Miami after leaving Barcelona in 2021.
“If you love football, you’ll know all about Lionel Messi and you will know that he defined football for generations. If you want a slice of that action, this is the thing to get,” Sands said.
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