The document dates back to 2000 and includes the player’s promise to join the illustrious Catalan club.

Prior to Friday’s Bonhams online auction, the starting price was £300,000.

At the time of the napkin’s signing, Messi was thirteen years old and had been trialing with Barcelona; nonetheless, his father was allegedly irritated by the club’s failure to commit to him.

While dining with Horacio Gaggioli, an agent from Argentina, and Josep Minguella, a transfer advisor for Barcelona, sporting director Carles Rexach brought out the napkin.The letter reads: “In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, FC Barcelona’s sporting director, hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any dissenting opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that we keep to the amounts agreed upon.”

On the same night that Joan Gaspart, president of Barcelona, confirmed the transaction, all of them signed a 16.5cm square napkin.

“Yes, it’s a paper napkin, but it’s the famous napkin that was at the inception of Lionel Messi’s career,” said Ian Ehling of Bonhams New York.

“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.”Messi, widely considered the greatest footballer of all time, won 10 La Liga championships and four Champions Leagues while playing for Barcelona and scoring 672 goals.

During his time there, he became a sporting superstar; he then left for Paris Saint-Germain and is currently a player for Inter Miami of the United States.

In 2022, the Argentine also realized a lifelong goal: to win the World Cup.