What do we know about iconic napkin that made Lionel Messi legend?

The career-launching napkin upon which Argentine football icon Lionel Messi signed his first contract at the age of 13 is up for auction, reported ESPN Thursday.

The auction was scheduled for March; however, it was delayed owing to a dispute over ownership of the piece.

The guide price of the napkin stands at $374,700-$624,500, while the bidding will be open until May 17 with the British auction house Bonhams.

The dispute was between Horacio Gaggioli and Josep Minguella as the napkin was with the former for the last two decades.

Minguella claimed the ownership of Lionel Messi’s napkin as the news broke out about the auction.

Bonhams told ESPN there were "no problems" regarding the sale of the napkin, which is listed on their website as "property of Horacio Gaggioli."

The agreement took place in 2000 when the father of 36-year-old Messi was having second thoughts about the contract with Barcelona and hinted taking his son back to Argentina. To secure the footballer, director Carles Rexach hastily signed a concord on a napkin.

"That was when thinking on my feet, I decided everything," Rexach told ESPN in 2020.

Gaggioli assisted as deal broker while Rexach, Minguella signed the deal after bringing the then-minor from South America to Spain.

Since the signing on the napkin, it remained in possession of Gaggioli in Andorra.

The legendary footballer is currently increasing his fame in the US football club Inter Miami.

Messi spent 20 years in Barcelona, where he secured victory in 10 LaLiga titles, seven Copas del Rey, and four Champions League trophies while playing for the club before joining Paris Saint-Germain.