Lionel Messi's first Barcelona contract was written on napkin and included agreement which changed football history

Details of the napkin that served as Lionel Messi's first Barcelona contract have been revealed.

Nearly 25 years ago back in December 2000, Barcelona made perhaps one of the biggest and most important decisions in the history of the club, signing a young Messi.

At the time, the 13-year-old travelled from Argentina to Barcelona to compete in a trial at the club's legendary youth academy, La Masia.

Unsurprisingly, a young Messi seriously impressed during the trial, leading to them deciding to put in writing their desire to sign him, despite initial hesitation regarding due to his age and medical costs to treat a growth hormone deficiency.

However, Barcelona’s technical director at the time, Carles Rexach, knew that he couldn't let the politics of negotiations get in the way of signing Messi, and so decided to take matters into his own hands while meeting with Messi's father at a tennis club in Barcelona.

Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time. (Image: Getty)

With no formal paperwork to hand, Rexach simply grabbed a nearby napkin and drafted the terms of Messi’s historic first contract, signing it alongside Jorge Messi.

Barcelona's transfer advisor Josep Minguella, and Horacio Gaggioli, an agent who recommended signing the Argentine star were also present and added their signatures to the contract.

It read: "In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and in 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."

Less than four years later in October 2004, Messi made his senior debut for Barcelona at the age of 17, beginning that would go to be one of the best and most iconic careers in the history of the sport.

Messi's famous first contract was later sold in an auction in London. (Image: Getty)

Across his time at the Nou Camp, Messi scored a record 672 goals in 778 games while winning 10 La Liga titles and the Champions League four times before leaving to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

This napkin contract has since been recognised as a moment of football history that, due to the player involved and the significance of Barcelona covering Messi's treatment, undoubtedly changed the sport forever.

In fact, in May 2024 it was sold in an auction in London for a breathtaking £762,400.