Byron Pillay

updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:14 PM

• Lionel Messi spent 20 successful years at Barcelona after signing for the club when he was just 12
• Barcelona president Joan Laporta was against the club signing Messi, believing he was too expensive
• Messi signed his first contract for Barcelona on a napkin which is now stored in a safe in a bank

Lionel Messi is a legend in football, especially at his former side, Barcelona.

The Argentinian superstar spent 20 successful years at the club and cemented his place as one of the greatest players in the world.

While much is known about Messi’s legendary career, the story of his signing for the Spanish side is something that is often forgotten. Messi signed his first professional contract with the Catalan club when he was just 13 years old.

More amazingly, the contract was signed his contract on a napkin, a napkin that is still preserved to this day, the Daily Star reported.

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When did Barcelona sign Messi?

On December 2000, Messi arrived in Spain for a trial. After just one game, Barcelona’s Sporting Director Carles Rexach knew that Messi was a star in the making. At the Club de Tennis Pompeia cafeteria, Rexach scribbled the contract on a napkin that Messi signed.

What did the contract say?

"In Barcelona, on Dec. 14, 2000, in the presence of [Josep Maria] 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."

Did anyone object?

As noted by Marca, Barcelona’s current president, Joan Laporta, was against the signing of Messi at the time. Laporta, who was president then, believed that it was a big amount of money for such a young player. Despite his objections, the deal went through and Messi because a Blaugrana star.

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Messi played 778 games for the Spanish side before signing for Paris Saint-Germain. He scored an impressive 672 goals and notched up 303 assists.

What happened to the contract?

The contract is still intact and has been framed and stored in a safe in an Andorran bank. There have been calls for it to be put on display at the club museum.

Messi at 34: 10 Lesser-known Facts About the Argentina and Barcelona Player

Argentine Lionel Messi, who is one of the greatest footballers of all-time clocks 34 on June 24, having been born in the Rosario area of Argentina in 1987.

The Barcelona captain hails from a humble background and was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at11.

It was gathered that his parents could not afford the $900 monthly cost to treat the disorder, but it was until he joined Barcelona that they paid that bill, Sports Brief earlier reported.