His immense expertise was instantly clear, however securing his future with the membership wasn’t simple.Some inside Barcelona had been hesitant as a consequence of Messi’s age and the monetary burden of paying for his medical therapies for a progress hormone deficiency.
Carles Rexach, then Barcelona’s technical director, acknowledged Messi’s potential and was desirous to safe his signature earlier than different European golf equipment swooped in. Nevertheless, formal negotiations dragged on, irritating Messi’s father, Jorge, who wished assurances for his son’s future.
In a fateful assembly at a tennis membership in Barcelona, Rexach, eager to not lose the chance to signal the prodigious expertise, determined to take issues into his personal palms. With no formal paperwork available, Rexach swiftly grabbed a serviette and scribbled the phrases of Messi’s first contract. Each Rexach and Jorge Messi signed it, making it an unofficial but historic settlement.
“In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and within the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, FC Barcelona‘s sporting director, hereby agrees, underneath his duty and no matter any dissenting opinions, to signal the participant Lionel Messi, supplied that we maintain to the quantities agreed upon,” is written on the serviette from the Pompeia tennis membership.
Messi made his skilled debut in 2004 and went on to set FC Barcelona’s goal-scoring file with 672 objectives in 778 matches.
Throughout his 17-year profession at Barcelona, Messi received 10 La Liga titles and 4 Champions League trophies earlier than shifting to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. The 37-year-old at the moment performs for Inter Miami within the US.
That serviette marked the start of Messi’s legendary journey with Barcelona, the place he would go on to develop into one of many biggest footballers of all time. The serviette is now a logo of soccer historical past, displaying how a easy act of religion perpetually modified the game.
By the way, the serviette was offered at an internet public sale by the UK-based agency Bonhams earlier this yr for whooping 762,400 British kilos ($968,600).
