Such day as today it does 20 years, the ancient secretary of the FC Barcelona, Carles Rexach, agreed with the father of a youngster of 13 years oriundo of Argentina his entrance to the Catalan team through an agreement signed in a napkin. Anybody could have imagined that this boy would finish turning into the best player of football of his generation and in one of the best of the history- This youngster was Lionel Messi.
"In Barcelona, to 14 December of the 2000 and in presence of the Gentlemen José María Minguella (otrora adviser of signings of Barcelona) and Horace Gaggioli (agent of Messi). Carles Rexach, technical secretary of the FC Barcelona, engages under his responsibility and in spite of some opinions against to fichar to the player Lionel Messi as long as we keep us in the agreed quantities", reads still in that document that drafted Rexach to close the negotiation with the father of Messi and his representative.
Messi arrived to the Barcelona group looking for better horizons that those that the clubs of his natal earth could offer him. Neither Newell's Old Boys or River Plate convinced to the progenitor of Messi, since these rejected to pay the treatment of growth of that boy of 13 years that then measured only 140 centimetres. It was Rexach and with low the recommendation of Josep María Minguella those who no only took the decision of ficharlo in the Barça and leave proof of his signing in the iconic napkin, but also to do charge of the cost of his treatment. The rest is history known, as well as the path of the best player of the history culé.
Carles Rexach still can remember the day in that it agreed the signing of Messi, and although it describes the process for fichar to the young as complicated does not doubt in describing it like one of the greater successes in the history of the Barcelona. "It is something that do not forget because it speaks so often of his signing that is difficult not being remembering it each two by three, but resumiendo could ensure that it is one of the big successes of the history of the Barça. (…) The day in that it closed the agreement was more complicated that pleasant, was very estresante because we were all the while waiting for seeing if we closed it or no, but when they said me that it was all fixed already breathed calm".
It admits also that had big expectations in the today Argentinian star but that with the happen of the years the same were surpassed. "In the moment that the fichamos dreamed that it was a phenomenon, but anybody thought that it would be so incredible. It has duplicated or triplicado the expectations that had then".
Between the vast number of records and trophies conquered by Lionel Messi beside the Barcelona stands out the have been champions of the League Santander in 10 occasions (2004/05, 2005/06, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2018/19) have conquered four times the UEFA Champions League (2005/06, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2014/15), win six Glasses of Rey (2008/09, 2011/12, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18) or eight times the Supercopa of Spain (2005/06, 2006/07, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2016/17, 2018/19).
The long list of trophies
The Barcelona has attained to win also thrice the Supercopa European (2009/10, 2011/12, 2015/16) and three World-wide of Clubs (2009/10, 2011/12, 2015/16). Besides, Messi also was recognised like the best player of the world (2009), won the Balloon of Gold of the World-wide (2014), is five winning times of the Boot of Gold (2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18), went twice laureado like the best player of all Europe (2010/11, 2014/15).
Likewise, the Argentinian forward also has been winning of the title of the maximum goleador of the League Santander seven times (2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20) as well as the maximum goleador of the Champions in six occasions (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2014/15, 2018/19). With the Catalan team, Messi has played a total of 746 parties, annotating 642 goals along all his career and executing successfully 278 assistances.