Messi’s heart was closely tied to the Catalan city, where his football dream began in a way no one could have predicted: The military coup in Argentina and the handkerchief mission.
As revealed by journalist Pete Jenson ( Eurosport ), Lionel Messi is about to sign a lifetime contract with Barca. That means, Messi’s heart is firmly attached to the Catalan city, where his football dream began in a way no one could have predicted: The military coup in Argentina and the handkerchief mission.
Messi when he first joined Barcelona.
Find a way to escape
At that time, Messi was a student at Newell Old Boys (NOB), then suddenly, Argentina experienced a crisis in all aspects that lasted 2 years (1999-2001). The economy is dominated by oligarchs profiting from privatization, and the government is run by churches.
Before 2001, foreign banks simultaneously withdrew all investment capital from Argentina, causing the ability to take savings in US dollars (the preferred currency here) to be disabled and the entire population had to convert. about the peso. When the crisis occurred, the above banks returned and at this time, the value of the US dollar was three times higher than the peso. Invisibly, the assets of most Argentines in the bank decreased by 2/3.
Argentinian people are crazy. Protests broke out, one of which claimed 30,000 lives after the bloody D’état coup. The first week of 2002, there were five governments in Argentina working together.
From a young age, Messi showed his genius qualities when he was a student at Newell Old Boys, but for many objective reasons he had to find another club to continue his development .
The unstable political situation turned football into the only lifeline for Argentine families because the early years of the 20th century witnessed the transformation of the football commercial market , with a series of famous players changing their lives in the blink of an eye. eye. From 2000 to 2002, Argentina introduced 2,000 professional football players, many of whom had just graduated… from junior high school.
Messi’s family stands at a crossroads. They can no longer afford to pay their youngest son’s monthly medical bills. If he stops taking the medicine or does not take the full dose, Messi’s body may become deformed. Without taking medicine, Messi will have to end his football dream.
Mr. Jorge decided to ask NOB for help. He went to see the club president 12 times in 2 weeks, begging NOB to help him pay the 900 pesos/month.
In return, Messi’s family will share a commission with NOB if he finds a suitable landing spot in the future. But NOB refused, and the only money they spent was 400 pesos. Mr. Jorge knows that Messi is forced to leave (even though he doesn’t want to).
Fateful call
Barca is not Messi’s first stop after terminating his contract with NOB. Federico Vairo ( River Plate scout ) came to see Mr. Jorge after a call from a friend in Rosario. Vairo agreed to let Messi participate in River Plate’s young talent testing session in Buenos Aires. Accompanying Messi is also Leandro Giménez – his striker partner at NOB.
10 minutes after the match started, Messi was sent onto the field. His team won 15-0, with 10 goals from Messi. Coach Abraham shouted, “Sign this boy.”
Messi and Gimenez returned home, filled with joy, “Oh, we were accepted by River Plate.” But ironically, River Plate’s regulations are to only accept students aged 13 and over. Messi is still 6 months away from being eligible to join the team. Argentina’s powerful football team informed Mr. Jorge that if Messi’s family could come to Buenos Aires with Messi, they would encourage and create conditions for Messi to play football.
After witnessing Messi’s talent, Josep María Minguella – a football broker with close ties to Barca – immediately contacted him.
Messi’s family’s economic conditions at that time were not very bright. On the grease-stained table, Mr. Jorge and his wife scratched their heads. They considered sending Messi to relatives in Italy to help him fulfill his desire to pursue top football.
Suddenly, the phone rang. On the other end of the line, the voice of Josep María Minguella – a football broker with close ties to Barca in Catalan – rang out. The door of La Masia slowly opened for Messi. A new chapter in life is waiting for you ahead.
Two months of horror
After a fateful call from Josep Maria Minguella, Messi and his father left for Catalan. On the first day at La Masia, in front of tall students who held the ball very little and passed continuously, Messi still kept his old habit in Argentina: Dribbling the ball at high speed with skillful handling to compensate for his lack of ability. physical loss.
For 15 consecutive days like that, Charly Rexach ( Barca’s technical director at that time) exclaimed: “Oh my God, why do we need another 14 days when with Messi, one chance is more than enough for that boy to confirm his identity?” determine capacity”.
On October 2, 2000, Messi received the nod from the scouts here. The only problem that needs to be resolved is that Barca needs to find a suitable job for Mr. Jorge in Spain to ensure immigration policies and FIFA regulations for talents under 13 years old.
Mr. Jorge and Messi returned to Argentina to wait for official news with a promise from Charly: “Don’t worry, I will arrange everything well and call you back as soon as possible.”
A month passed. Then two months. 2 more weeks. There is almost no contact from Barca. Messi’s whole family seemed to be sitting on a fire. All they could do was wait for the phone to ring. At that time, e-mail was not as popular as it is now.
Messi and his father went to La Masia for a trial, making everyone fall in love, but financial problems caused the deal to stall.
Questions began to appear in Mr. Jorge’s mind. Is River Plate’s bad luck not letting go of Messi yet? There was a time when Messi almost belonged to AC Milan or Atletico Madrid. Milan even sent an envelope to Messi’s home, clearly stating all the benefits he and his family would enjoy if they came to Italy, including jobs for his parents, a spacious apartment and 500,000 euros for treatment. for Messi every year.
Decided at the drinking table
Charly and broker Minguella met at the tennis court of Horacio Gaggioli (a person working in Minguella’s office) to discuss Messi’s future .
After a round of exchange, the two went to a nearby draft beer store. Already a bit drunk, Minguella started the debate: “I think we need to call Messi’s family.” Charly immediately replied, “Everything is fine, except Barca (in the early years of the 21st century, Barca’s performance on the field was unstable so they neglected their work at the youth level). Horacio interrupted: “Hey Charly, we’ve come this far. Let’s decide to either sign Messi or forget about this after today.”
But thanks to a conversation at the drinking table between Charly Rexach (Barca’s technical director at that time) and a person working in Minguella’s office, Horacio Gaggioli (pictured), a contract was signed on a handkerchief. rub.
A tipsy Charly no longer seemed alert enough to refuse Horacio’s offer. The two came to an agreement that Messi would be kept. There was no decent piece of paper, the contract between the two parties was made on a child’s handkerchief, with scribbled words written with a felt-tip pen.
On December 14, 2000, the contract between Charly and Minguella officially took effect. Good news from Catalan flew to Rosario. Messi’s family seemed to burst with happiness. Even if they dreamed they would never know, their son’s future would be decided by insane men at the drinking table. Up to now, Messi has never once seen that strange original contract.
Weird train ride
For many people, the contract that brought Messi to Barca is one of the club’s historic decisions. The entire signing and negotiation process was resolved quickly . What’s more special is that president Joan Gaspart did not participate or have any say in that decision. Charly single-handedly takes care of everything.
Everything has its reason. Joan Gaspart is the most incompetent president of Barca. During 2 and a half years in power, Barca under Gaspart went through empty seasons, faced a crisis at the top and La Masia oven was not really effective. So, Gaspart’s chair is really just symbolic.
When Messi was accepted into La Masia, Barca was forced to break its financial structure. The budget for the academy is about 13 million euros, but since Messi’s presence the number has increased many times (Horacio’s source is 20 million euros).
Barca accepted a house for Messi’s family, a stable job for Mr. Jorge, annual travel money and hormone injection fees for Messi to grow taller .
Thanks to Rexach’s enthusiastic help, Messi officially entered the La Masia training facility.
Messi does not have to live on La Masia’s campus like his peers. It was he who proposed the idea and for some unknown reason received a nod almost immediately from Barca.
In January 2001, NOB registered ownership of Messi with the Argentine Football Federation. Things get complicated. Legally, NOB is allowed to do so because they are the first place to bring Messi to professional football . To make things peaceful, Barca must pay the transfer fee and agree to the demands made by NOB.
Having just arrived at Barca, Messi returned to Rosario to attend the club championship for ages 12 to 13 in a week – where he won the title of “Top scorer”.
After many difficulties, Barca finally got the precious gem that completely changed the club’s history.
On January 8, 2001, although he had not contributed much to Barca, Messi received his first salary: 600,000 euros/year. The rent was increased by Barca to 42,000 euros/year, and Mr. Jorge was able to work at the security company Barna Porters (owned by Barca).
Too excited, Mr. Jorge walked 75 km to the “Place of the Virgin Mary” in St. Nicolas to thank God. On February 15, 2001, after several weeks of preparing his belongings and passport, Messi said his final goodbyes to Rosario and began his journey to La Masia.
In an interview with Marca newspaper in 2009, Messi shared, “The train that took him to La Masia never went in a straight line.”
