Nearly a million dollars. Lionel Messi's first contract was sold at auction

Last week, Lionel Messi's first contract, which he signed on a napkin in 2000, was auctioned.

According to AP News, this contract was sold for $965,000 on Friday, May 17th. Additionally, an undisclosed percentage of the sale price covers administrative fees for conducting the online auction, known as the buyer's premium.

The auction was conducted on behalf of Horacio Gaggioli, Messi's Argentine agent, who was involved in the deal. The starting price for the lot was $350,000.

To recall, Messi was spotted in Barcelona and invited for a two-week trial in September 2000. On September 17th, he arrived in Barcelona with his father and waited for two weeks to meet with sporting director Carles Rexach, who was on a business trip in Sydney.

When Rexach saw the boy play, he immediately wanted to sign him, but the board of directors hesitated, as it was very unusual for European clubs to sign foreign players at such a young age at that time. On December 14th, Barcelona faced an ultimatum—whether they wanted to take the player or not.

Rexach persuaded Barcelona's management to pay for Leo's family's move to Barcelona and for his treatment, which was quite expensive. Without any other paper at hand, Rexach signed the contract on a paper napkin.