The napkin on which 13-year-old Lionel Messi’s first Barcelona contract was signed is to be auctioned – with a starting price of £300,000.

A signed napkin from December 2000 is going up for auction in March, and it played a crucial role in Lionel Messi joining Barcelona. The napkin carries commitments from Barcelona’s then-director Carles Rexach to sign Messi, along with signatures from transfer advisor Josep Minguella and agent Horacio Gaggioli. The agreement was made at a lunch meeting arranged by Rexach after concerns from Messi’s family about a lack of response from Barcelona following the teenager’s trial. Messi, who later became Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer, joined the club a month later. The napkin, written in blue ink, commits Rexach to sign Messi under the agreed terms. Messi, now 36, went on to win numerous titles with Barcelona before moving to Paris St-Germain in 2021. The auction house, Bonhams, considers the napkin a historic item that played a pivotal role in shaping Messi’s career and Barcelona’s football history. The auction is expected to attract significant interest due to the document’s unique significance.