Lionel Messi signed his first Barcelona contract on a paper napkin

Lionel Messi signed his first Barcelona contract on a paper napkin

Almost everyone uses a paper napkin, throws it away, and forgets about it, right? Barcelona were definitely not throwing this paper napkin away after use, though. On December 14th 2000, they had just formally signed 13-year-old Lionel Messi. This was an on-the-fly decision by ex-Barcelona player and then-Barcelona executive Carles Rexach, at a restaurant with Josep Maria Minguella, a player agent who had brought some players to Barcelona, Joan Gaspart, president of Barcelona at the time, and Messi’s contact in Spain, Horacio Gaggioli, threatened to offer the Argentine to Real Madrid, who were also interested. So Rexach used a paper napkin that was handed to him by a waiter and wrote:

“In Barcelona, on December 14, 2000 and in the presence of Messrs. Minguella and Horacio, Carlos Rexach, Technical Secretary of F.C.B. is committed under his responsibility and despite some opinions against signing the player Lionel Messi as long as we maintain the agreed amounts.” 

The napkin was then signed by Rexach, Minguella and Gaggioli. Despite reported multi-million dollar offers to buy it, the napkin, still legally owned by Gaggioli, is in a safe in the Credit Andorra Bank. Gaggioli is adamant not to sell it, and will only consider loaning it to the Barcelona museum to sit next to the Argentine’s Ballon D’Ors. However, he stated he would not give it to the museum “until Messi retires or leaves the club.”

Seeing as Messi has left the Catalonian giants, the document will likely be loaned only after his retirement, which we hope will not be anytime soon.