Lionel Messi is one of the best ever soccer players in our generation, if not the best in the history of the sport. There is no doubt that the Argentine has reached the heights of greatness during his long career, during which he practically won everything.
However, even he had a humble beginning. The now-36-year-old was born in Argentina but became the great player he is today in Barcelona. But there was every chance that he would not have been the player he is today, with the scout that discovered him sharing the same sentiment.
Lionel Messi’s scout discusses Argentine’s path to success
It is a well-documented story that Lionel Messi joined the world of soccer in a unique manner. He was only 12 when he was signed by FC Barcelona, where he would write a beautiful story and become their greatest player ever.
And it was all possible thanks to Carles Rexach, the Barcelona coach and scout who had managed to sign the player for the club. While he already knew that Messi would have been successful, he shared his thoughts on how the player became what he is and what he avoided.
Rexach admitted that Messi’s story could have been very different for three reasons. He first highlighted that the Argentine maestro sacrificed a lot to reach his position: “When people hear Messi’s story it seems like a fairy tale. Yet to get there he really had to suffer. But this suffering made him stronger.”
There was every chance that the young Messi could have decided that soccer was not for him, and he may have had a change of heart. Furthermore, at any time, his career could have been over if he became injured.
Rexach summarized these two reasons by saying, “What I saw was that Messi was a boy that, if nothing happened to him – if he didn’t go crazy or decide not to play football anymore or get badly hurt – he would surely become a player of the highest level.”
He also attributed that Barcelona’s style of playing definitely helped Messi become the legend he is today. “But the football played by Barcelona has been perfect for him too. Hunger has come together with the desire to eat. And of course, it is natural that this combination over the years has become explosive.”
There is no doubt that Lionel Messi became the player he is today by sacrificing a lot and working hard a lot as well, and his career could have been over at any time.
Messi’s napkin contract to fetch minimum $380K in auction
Carles Rexach did sign Lionel Messi, but even that is a unique story. He had gone to Argentina, where he witnessed the young boy play. He was amazed by what he saw and was convinced the club had to sign him. But the club authorities were reluctant to sign the deal, and there was a delay. This is said to have made the father of Leo, Jorge Messi, very impatient, and fearing the deal could go sideways, Rexach had a unique idea.
He produced a white napkin from the table, where he wrote a legal agreement to sign the young Newell’s Old Boys sensation. The napkin had read, “In Barcelona, on December 14, 2000 and in the presence of Messrs [Josep] 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.”
❗The napkin in which Leo Messi signed his first contract for FC Barcelona will be sold in auction. @mundodeportivo pic.twitter.com/91l0Nnxjf1
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) February 1, 2024
Then the young Lionel Messi would sign his name on the agreement, and this would start the journey of a lifetime. And the same iconic napkin that no doubt plays an important role in the history of soccer will be sold at an auction. Bonhams, a private auction house that has procured the napkin, will hold an online auction and sell it to the highest bidder. A starting bid of $380,000 has been confirmed, and the final sale price can go far higher than that.
Lionel Messi is forever a great of the sport, and the story of how a young boy became such a great will forever be iconic.
