Messi's napkin contract up for auction

On May 8, British auction house Bonhams opened online bidding for Messi's first contract with Barca. Bids soon reached more than $275,000, and are expected to reach $625,000. The auction will end on May 17.

The auction was originally scheduled for March. But Bonhams postponed it due to a dispute over ownership of the scarf, which had been in the hands of Argentine auctioneer Horacio Gaggioli for two decades.

Josep Minguella, another broker involved in bringing Messi from Argentina to Spain, claimed ownership of the scarf after it was reported it would be put up for auction.

In 2000, Messi and his father, Jorge, went to Spain in the hope of joining Barca. After a period of contact and trial, Jorge doubted the club's commitment to his son. In order to keep him, Football Director Carles Rexach quickly signed a temporary contract.

"Why a napkin? Because it was the only thing I had on hand," Rexach explained in 2020, marking Messi's 20th anniversary with Barca. "I saw that the only way to ease Jorge's stress was to sign something. So I asked the waiter at the restaurant for a napkin."

After Barca signed Messi, Gaggioli kept the napkin as a souvenir. The Argentine broker later placed it in a secure vault in Andorra, a principality north of Barcelona. Barca tried to return the napkin to the club’s museum, but it was never returned.

Messi signed his first contract with Barca at the age of 13. In 2004, he was promoted to the first team and spent 17 years in the team. Messi is the player who scored the most goals (672), played the most matches (778) and won the most titles (34) for Barca, including four Champions Leagues and 10 La Ligas.