It was revealed by the auction house Bonhams that the contract that Barcelona had pledged to sign with Lionel Messi when he was 13 years old was sold for a total valuation of $969,000.
There will be an online auction for the scarf from May 8 through May 17, with the starting price of the scarf being 300,000 pounds (381,000 USD). Bonhams made the announcement that someone had purchased it for a price of 762,400 pounds (969,000 USD, which is approximately 24.5 billion VND) after the time limit had passed.
The words are written in blue ink on a square towel that measures 16.5 centimeters by 16.5 centimeters.
The tissue paper records Messi’s first contract with Barca, in 2000. Photo: USA Today
A former sporting director at Barcelona named Carles Rexach, a transfer counselor named Josep Minguella, and a Messi representative named Horacio Gaggioli all provided their signatures on the scarf. In December of the year 2000, they had a conversation about Messi’s future when they were having lunch at a tennis club in Spain.
In order to avoid losing the talented player who was just 13 years old at the time, Rexach made the decision to sign a contract with Gaggioli as soon as possible; however, there were no documentation available. Despite the fact that this contract is written on a restaurant napkin, it is nonetheless considered to be legally binding. Following that, Barcelona developed a comprehensive contract for Messi to sign, marking the beginning of his 21-year tenure with the club.
After that, Gaggioli opted to keep the scarf for himself, and he also made the decision to sell it at auction on Bonhams. That the scarf “changed Messi’s life and football history” was the statement made by the auction company.
During the time of 2009-2012, Messi was the primary player for Barcelona, which is widely regarded as the most formidable squad in the history of the sport. He owns the record for winning eight Golden Balls. When it came to the ranking of the greatest footballers of all time, Messi came out on top, according to the Daily Mail (UK). After Argentina’s victory in the 2022 World Cup, his career was considered to have reached its pinnacle.
Messi left Barcelona in the summer of 2021 since his contract had expired and the club did not have sufficient financial potential to extend it. since of this, Messi departed Barcelona. Messi shed tears and used a tissue to wipe his eyes during the news conference that was held to announce his departure from Barcelona. In addition, this scarf was placed for sale at a price of one million US dollars.