Told by the players, fans and journalists that were there, we delve into why these players created such a strong bond with their fans and how they are still remembered years on. Follow on Spotify so you can listen to the weekly episodes as soon as they drop. Search Sky Sports. Fill 2 Copy 11 Created with Sketch. Wednesday 11 August , UK. Lionel Messi has completed his move to Paris Saint-Germain after signing a two-year contract.
Who could replace Gerrard at Rangers? Video Latest News. I know how talented the squad and the coaching staff are here. I am determined to help build something special for the club and the fans, and I am looking forward to stepping out onto the pitch at the Parc des Princes. Messi will wear the number 30, as revealed in a video by the club, the number he had when he began his professional career at Barcelona between Such was the fan fervour around his arrival that police had to push back to stop metal barriers from toppling over at the airport as fans surged forward to get a better view.
He then travelled into Paris with a police escort that included several black-clad officers on motorbikes. They got their wish as the smiling superstar briefly waved to them before he began his medical checkup.
We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration. After ending an association with FC Barcelona that spanned more than two decades, the Argentinian said PSG "matches my football ambitions. The forward announced last week he would be leaving Barcelona after a career spanning more than two decades at the La Liga club.
PSG revealed that Messi will wear the number 30 — the same number he had when he made his professional debut at Barcelona in Messi first arrived at the Catalan club four years earlier, as a year-old. He will be formally introduced as part of the team on Wednesday. There were doubts about investing in someone so young. Messi and his family were between Barcelona and Buenos Aires, and as time passed, with no news from Barca, they began to get anxious.
As the Christmas period approached, those involved in helping bring Messi over to Spain began to think about taking him to other clubs. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid were mentioned. Gaggioli: Rexach had already decided [to sign him], as had the late Joan Lacueva, who ended up paying for the start of his hormone treatment, but the club hadn't decided.
They said it was crazy to sign Messi. Things weren't going well at Barcelona at all and the club was close to bankruptcy. Montero came in November to try and sort the problems, but he didn't manage to. Montero then called me and told me to talk with Rexach and warn him that we can't hold on any longer. And he told me that if we weren't going to sign, Messi would go for trials with Real Madrid or Atletico. Rexach: I don't know if there were other teams interested at the time, I don't think so.
We had here, at the club, a kid very different to anything we had seen before. It was, I don't know, like a gift, a unique chance for as much as there was risk involved. They said to me at the club, "Listen, Charly, he's 13 years old and we don't know what can happen in the future But I knew we had to sign him to stop him going elsewhere and then regretting it.
Minguella: River Plate had him on trial for a couple of days, but decided not to sign him in the end. For that reason, when the chance to travel to Barcelona came up, the player's dad didn't have much to think about. Part of the trial was a game with kids of Messi's age and a team from [the next age bracket above]. It was arranged after we spoke with Rexach about the kid coming to Barcelona.
The best thing they could do was watch him. Charly had the president's confidence and is a legend at Barca, so there was no one better than him to give [Messi] the once-over.
Rexach reacted the moment he saw him play. After a few minutes, he said he had to be signed, that he was unique. Also at that game was Quimet Rife and various ex-Barca players who were working in the academy at the time.
Messi was different to the rest and it confirmed what we had seen in the videos Juan Mateo had sent me from Argentina: he always looked to get to goal. Gaspart: I didn't know anything about the trial and didn't even consult anyone after speaking with Rexach.
I already said it was his decision Well, the final word had to be mine, as the president, of course, but the credit is all Charly's. Messi's signing came a few months after [Luis] Figo's exit, which was really hard for the club and deserved a book of its own. Everything that happened in that August I would not wish upon anyone, and as you can imagine, at that moment, Messi was not a priority for the club.
I do remember the logistical conditions were different because the father, Jorge, wanted Leo to live in a flat with him and not in La Masia with the rest of the kids in the academy. As an exception, Rexach told me it could be done, that we couldn't be getting tangled up in minor issues and that we had to do it. By the middle of December, Messi's dad, Jorge, was particularly nervous. The lack of news out of Barcelona was leading him to believe they weren't willing to sign his son.
Sensing that the club could miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime player, Rexach stepped in to ensure that Messi did not go elsewhere. Rexach: Jorge thought [Barca] were stalling. I wasn't there and don't know exactly how things were, but when I met with Jorge I realised he wasn't clear on anything. I suppose he didn't trust [Barca] and he seemed desperate, so one night I met with Minguella and Horacio at the Pompeya tennis club and, speaking with Jorge on the phone, he told me, "If this isn't sorted soon, we're going.
I have to return to Buenos Aires and I don't see anything happening. Why a napkin? Because it was the only thing I had available to hand.
I saw the only way to relax Jorge was signing something, giving him some proof, so I asked for a napkin from the waiter and I wrote: "In Barcelona, on 14 December and the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, 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.
I told Jorge that there was my signature and that there were witnesses, that with my name I would take direct responsibility, there was nothing else to talk about and to be patient for a few days because Leo could already consider himself a Barca player.
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