An iconic event in soccer history was memorialized on a napkin when Barcelona informally recruited Lionel Messi, then 13 years old. He went on to orchestrate one of the best careers in sports history.
“In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and the presence of Messrs. [Josep] Minguella and Horacio [Gaggioli], 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,” is what the agreement said in Spanish.
News broke in February that Argentine agent Horacio Gaggioli would be selling the napkin in an online auction. Before signing him, Gaggioli brought Messi to the notice of Carles Rexach and another agent Josep Minguella. In turn, he set up a trial for the club a few months before that.
The team was hesitant to recruit Messi at first because of his small stature, youth, and non-European status, which hampered the discussions. Jorge Messi, the father of Lionel Messi, had become frustrated by the impasse.
At the club leaders’ lunch meeting, Rexach felt the tension building. Thus, he grabbed a paper napkin from the table dispenser and started to jot down some notes. For soccer, it would represent the start of something new at that time.
What is the issue regarding the Messi napkin?
From March 18 to the 27, the napkin is up for sale online by the prestigious British auction house Bonhams, with a starting bid of $379,000. However, the auction for the napkin that Lionel Messi supposedly allegedly signed for Barcelona has just been put on hold.
That’s because two individuals who were there at the time are now in a court battle about who exactly owns it. An argument between Horacio Gaggioli, Messi’s ex-agent, and veteran agent Josep Maria Minguella has halted the bidding.
What did Gaggioli say?
In his statement, Gaggioli stressed: “The napkin has always been mine and Minguella…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/auction-for-messis-napkin-barca-deal-halted-for-bizarre-reason/
Author : Martina Alcheva
Publish date : 2024-04-24 20:58:37
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