The Story of the Paper Napkin
In September 2000, the thirteen year old Messi arrived in Barcelona, with family members and others including Horacio Gaggioli, who was acting as his representative at the time. The young Messi’s football skills impressed FCB officials, but they were nervous about signing a contract that would commit Messi to FCB, possibly because Carles Rexach, the FCB, technical director, was away at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. At the time, Messi was only given the promise of a contract. Fortunately, for world football, the story did not end there.
Three months later, Rexach saw Messi play and was impressed by the boy’s skills. Shortly afterwards, Rexach and Gaggioli were having lunch together, when they were joined by Josef Minguella, a player agent. Rexach fearing that Messi might sign for another club, grabbed a nearby table napkin and wrote a contract binding Messi to FCB. The contract read:
“ In Barcelona, on December 14, 2000 and in the presence of Josep Maria Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, Technical Secretary of FCB, is committed under his responsibility and despite some opinions against signing Lionel Messi as long as we maintain the agreed amounts”.
The napkin was signed by Rexach, Minguella and Gaggioli. What is noticeable is the table napkin agreement was only a conditional contract as no sums of money had been agreed. The agreement was given legal validity a week later before a state notary. The rest is history. The napkin remains the property of Gaggioli, although it is usually securely stored in a bank vault. It is estimated to be worth a few million dollars, but Gaggioli has refused to sell the napkin. Gaggioli has indicated that one day the napkin should be placed in the FCB museum so that fans can view Messi’s original FCB contract.
Catastrophic Start During The National Debut and Messi's Red Card
Messi was in tears following his international debut with the senior team. On 17, August, 2005, Barcelona were playing Hungary, at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest. Messi, aged only eighteen, was a substitute player so he did not start playing until the sixty third minute of the match. Whilst Messi had possession of the ball his shirt was pulled by Hungarian player, Vilmos Vanczak. Messi swung his arm around in an attempt to elbow Vanczak away. Unfortunately, Messi’s elbow struck Vanczak in the neck. The referee interpreted Messi’s action as a deliberate foul and issued him a red card, which, of course, meant that Messi had to leave the field. Messi had been on the field for less than two minutes. It’s reported that he started crying as soon as he reached the dressing room.
The Word 'Inmessionante' that had to be added into Spanish dictionary
Next bizarre story is about the fact that even the greatest footballers are the reason why some words have to be added into the dictionary to describe someone as special as Lionel Messi.
The meaning of this word is as follows: "Adjective qualifier that refers to Lionel Messi, his perfect way of playing football, his unlimited ability to surpass himself. Describes the best footballer of all time."
Messi's typical goal celebration as a dedication to his deceased grandmother
Messi fans and others often ask: Why does Messi point one finger of each hand at the sky each time he scores a goal? The short answer is that their not religious gestures, but dedications to his grandmother, Celia Oliver’s Cuccittini. His grandmother helped the young Messi by taking him to watch and play football matches. It was she who insisted that he should be allowed to play football, even when other said he was too small to play. His grandmother died in 1998, when Messi was only 11 years old. So, she did not live to see Messi become a football superstar and legend. The finger pointing is Messi’s way of thanking his grandmother for her help and love.
Messi's Charitable Donations
Messi is a private man so he does not talk to the media about his generous contributions to various charities. He established the Lionel Messi Foundation in 2007. Since 2004, he has been involved in UNICEF charitable works becoming one of the organisations ambassadors in 2010. So, it seems appropriate to mention three of his charitable donations here.
In 2019, the Messi foundation donated €200,000 to help fund UNICEF projects that will ensure that over two thousand people, including young children, in Kenya will have access to clean running water in their homes and in the local primary schools. Additionally, it is estimated that at least 4000 food supplements will be distributed to alleviate malnutrition issues in Kenya.