Soccer

Your chance to buy a little square piece of the Lionel Messi story

All in the Game: Pep Guardiola makes Margaret Thatcher admission; Thomas Tuchel puts his foot in it; and Damien Duff gives hugs, kisses and kicks

A napkin on which was written the first promise of a contract to secure 13-year-old Lionel Messi for FC Barcelona is on display at Bonhams, New York. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Mary Hannigan's face
Mary Hannigan
Mon Mar 11 2024 - 06:00

You’ll most probably have heard the story of the Lionel Messi napkin over the years, but on the off-chance that you haven’t, here’s the gist: when Messi was just 13, Barcelona’s sporting director Carles Rexach met with the club’s transfer advisor Josep Minguella and Horacio Gaggioli, Messi’s agent. He whipped out a napkin and on it he wrote:

“In Barcelona, on December 14th, 2000 and 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.”

The napkin is currently on show in New York and will also make an appearance in Paris and London before being put up for an online auction between March 18th and 27th. You’re free to join the bidding, with one small proviso - you can meet the starting price of €350,000. “But I expect it to sell for much more,” said Ian Ehling of international auction house Bonhams New York. That’s one expensive napkin.

Word of Mouth

“Duncan [Ferguson] is an absolute force of nature. You sit with him for five minutes and he stands up and shadow boxes. You would not need a wind farm if you could plug Duncan in, because he has megawatts of energy. He’s quite incredible.” How much does Inverness Caledonian Thistle chairman Ross Morrison love his manager? A lot.

READ MORE

“Look, it’s the 16th time I’ve retired now. I would say yes, but who knows. When you get to my age you don’t know what’s around the corner, you just hope that you keep living.” Neil Warnock on being asked whether his 33-day reign at Aberdeen (he resigned on Saturday) would be his last in management.

“The first time I saw Leo Messi play I only needed five minutes to say: he’s a mouse. Lamine Yamal also plays like a mouse. He looks like that too. If it continues like this, he will bring Barcelona a lot of happiness.” Real Mallorca coach Javier Aguirre with a rather unique compliment for the 16-year-old wunderkid.

Toe Story

Thomas Tuchel puts on a brave face as he heads to the bench before Bayern Munich's Champions League match against Lazio. Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

When Thomas Tuchel stayed in his seat for the duration of Bayern Munich’s Champions League game against Lazio last week, there was a notion that after their iffy run of form and the announcement that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season, he’d run out of enthusiasm for the job. But?

“While giving my pre-match address, I made contact with a door and think I might have suffered a broken toe. I received treatment immediately but didn’t have the courage to take off my shoe as I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get it back on. It’s very painful and it’s why I couldn’t stand and sat down during the game. But it’s all good.”

Well, the motivational chat worked, Bayern won the game 3-0, having lost the first leg 1-0, and are through to the quarter-finals. This making contact with dressing room doors could catch on.

More Word of Mouth

Erling Haaland says he'll be the judge of what matters to him. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

“If he wants to say that, okay. I’ve been here one year and I won the treble. It was quite a nice feeling. I don’t think he knows exactly this feeling.” Erling Haaland miaowing back at Trent Alexander-Arnold after the Liverpool man claimed his club’s trophies “mean more” than City’s.

“Finishing in the top four is not Willy Wonka. It gets you a year in the Champions League, but if you don’t build on that then it is meaningless.” Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou. Mind you, after that 4-0 win over Aston Villa, they could be about to collect that golden ticket.

“Margaret Thatcher was stronger than me, I need more hours.” Pep Guardiola on needing substantially more than four hours sleep at night.

Quote

“I’m honest with the guys. I give them everything 24/7, hugs, kisses, kicks up the arse, nights out. They get the full package. Maybe that goes a long way to getting their buy-in.” Damien Duff on earning the love of his Shelbourne lads.

By the numbers: 200

That’s how many million euros Spanish paper Marca claim PSG have bid for that Barcelona 16-year-old sensation, Yamal.

Pep GuardiolaLionel MessiDamien DuffErling Haaland