When Messi returned to Rosario, Argentina, Barcelona director Carles Rexach fretted about losing a good player. Lionel Messi’s first contract auction price will shock you. Last year, The Athletic reported that Gaggioli advised Rexach in December 2000 that Messi would be offered to other teams, including Real Madrid if they could not sign him.
Lionel Messi’s first contract auction price will shock you
Barcelona’s director offered Gaggioli to choose Messi, but time ran out to sign a deal. Writing on a napkin and getting all the parties’ signatures allowed the contract to become legitimate.
The napkin’s contract said: “In Barcelona, on December 14, 2000, and in the presence of the gentleman (the agent, Josep Maria) Minguella and Horacio (Gaggioli), Carles Rexach, technical secretary of FCB, commits under his responsibility. Despite the opinion of others who are against signing Lionel Messi, as long as the agreed fees are maintained.”
“This is one of the most thrilling items I have ever handled,” Bonhams New York head of fine books and manuscripts Ian Ehling said. “Yes, it’s a paper napkin, but it’s the famous napkin that started Lionel Messi’s career.”
“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.”
Gaggioli called it a “marvelous moment” because “That napkin broke the deadlock.”
“My lawyers reviewed it. My name, his name, and the date were on the napkin. Notarized. A legal document.”
“It will always be part of me. My napkin is constantly with me. In Andorra, I kept the napkin in a bank safe.”
Minguella told Catalunya Radio Wednesday that the napkin has been in his office for years and that he offered Barcelona the chance to display it in the club’s museum.
