IT was exactly ten years ago Lionel Messi announced to the world he was hanging up his boots for Argentina forever.
Moments before, he had suffered through a grueling defeat against Chile in the Copa AmĂ©rica final, Argentinaâs fourth defeat at a major final in a row.
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They had lost on penalties, and Messi had launched his high over the crossbar.
âFor me, the national team is over,â said the then 29-year-old through tears.
Critics at home had him in their sights.
Here was one of the greatest strikers of all time, already a five-time Balon dâOr winner, someone who saw no shortage of success at his club, Barcelona. So why couldnât he do the same for Argentina?
They questioned his loyalty to the countryâs shirt, pointing to his move to the Catalan city aged just 13.
âIâve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion. It was the thing I wanted the most, but I couldnât get it, so I think itâs over. I think this is best for everyone. First of all for me, then for everyone,â he added after that defeat.
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âItâs very hard, but the decision is taken. Now I will not try more and there will be no going back.â
How wrong he was.
A decade on from that night of heartbreak, not only has Messi lifted the World Cup trophy for Argentina previously, but he is now the tournamentâs all-time top goal scorer â a record secured with his two goals against Austria on Monday.
Not too bad for a player who this week celebrated his 39th birthday, twenty years after coming off the bench to make his World Cup debut as a fresh-faced, long-haired 18-year-old back in 2006.
Not too bad either for someone who, when young, was so small that doctors predicted he would not grow to more than 5ft in height.
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Hailing from Rosario, in Santa Fe Province of Argentine, Messi was just four years old when he started playing â with a little help from his grandma, Celia Cuccittini.
Though she passed away in 1998, before he grew up to become the legend he is today, itâs perhaps to her he owes everything.
âWhen I was four, I started playing at a club. Back then the team was one year older than me were playing and they needed a player, so my grandma told the coach âput him in into the team,â he previously recalled.
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âThe coach said Iâm too small, but grandma always says, âplay him, play himâ.â
Time after time, even at this young age, he would prove his small stature was no handicap â even after he was left out of a match on the school playground on his first day of school.
He joined local club Newellâs Old Boys, where he continued to impress.
âWhen you saw him, you would think âThis kid canât play ball. Heâs a dwarf, heâs too fragile, too small,â their youth coach Adrian Coria said at the time
âBut immediately youâd realise that he was born different, that he was a phenomenon.â
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His talent was undeniable, but as his peers grew, his height started to threaten any future he had in the sport.
A visit to the doctorâs office would reveal why, despite being 11, he still only stood at 4ft 4in and hadnât grown in two years.
The cause was Growth Hormone Deficiency, and without intervention, it was predicted he would grow to no taller than 4ft 7in.
Treatment was available. The problem was that intervention would cost north of $900 (ÂŁ680) every month, a financial hit that would be too much of a burden for both his family and club, especially since Argentina was in the midst of an economic crisis.
His saving grace would, in the end, be a signature on the back of a napkin.
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Messiâs family, including his father, Jorge, had connections with local agents and all of them knew that if the wonderkid was to have a future, it would lie in Europe.
At the instance of agents Horacio Gaggioli and Josep Maria Minguella, it had been arranged for Messi to be flown to Barcelona for a two-week trial.
His family were put up in a hotel. Charly Rexach, the clubâs technical director, had been in Sydney to scout at the Olympics, and was now back to see how Messi would compare in a match against other kids two years his age.
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In the dressing room were fellow future stars Cesc FĂ bregas and Gerard PiquĂ©, already training at Barcelonaâs legendary youth academy.
Fabregas recalled in a later tribute to Messi: âThe coach told me in the one to one exercise to be strong against you.
âI saw you were small, that I thought in a second I would take it away from you. Silly of me, you left me on the floor and from then on I saw that you were something different. â
But the decision lay with Rexach. He had barely walked half of the field from where he entered to make the decision.
âAfter two minutes, I had seen enough. I said, âWe have to sign this kid right nowâ,â he recalled.
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Rexach was convinced â but the rest of the club werenât.
At the time, signing a player from outside Europe at such a young age was unprecedented.
Then there were the risks around having to put him through growth hormone therapy, and the need for his father.
The months went by, but there was still no news from the club. Come December, and Messiâs dad, Jorge, issued them with an ultimatum.
âSpeaking with Jorge on the phone, he told me, âIf this isnât sorted soon, weâre going. I have to return to Buenos Aires and I donât see anything happening,â Rexach recalled.
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With such a talent on his hands, Rexach knew he couldnât waste any more time, and that date â December 14 â would go down in world footballing history.
Sitting down for lunch at the Pompeya tennis club, Rexach waved down a waiter and asked for a napkin, and wrote: âIn Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, FC Barcelonaâs 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.â
âI knew I wasnât following protocol,â said Rexach. âI had signed it, there were witnesses. Iâd done something I shouldnât have done in my position, but I was taking full responsibility.â
Gaggioli would go on to sell the napkin at auction in 2024 for a cool ÂŁ762,400.
Rising up the ranks, it wasnât long before a teenage Messi was being called up into the first team, his first competitive debut being age 17 in 2004.
Advertisement
Now, all these years later, he is the most decorated player in the history of football.
Little wonder that so many of the gameâs greats do not hesitate to say he is the greatest of all time.
Moments before, he had suffered through a grueling defeat against Chile in the Copa AmĂ©rica final, Argentinaâs fourth defeat at a major final in a row.
Advertisement
They had lost on penalties, and Messi had launched his high over the crossbar.
âFor me, the national team is over,â said the then 29-year-old through tears.
Critics at home had him in their sights.
Here was one of the greatest strikers of all time, already a five-time Balon dâOr winner, someone who saw no shortage of success at his club, Barcelona. So why couldnât he do the same for Argentina?
They questioned his loyalty to the countryâs shirt, pointing to his move to the Catalan city aged just 13.
âIâve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion. It was the thing I wanted the most, but I couldnât get it, so I think itâs over. I think this is best for everyone. First of all for me, then for everyone,â he added after that defeat.
Advertisement
âItâs very hard, but the decision is taken. Now I will not try more and there will be no going back.â
How wrong he was.
A decade on from that night of heartbreak, not only has Messi lifted the World Cup trophy for Argentina previously, but he is now the tournamentâs all-time top goal scorer â a record secured with his two goals against Austria on Monday.
Not too bad for a player who this week celebrated his 39th birthday, twenty years after coming off the bench to make his World Cup debut as a fresh-faced, long-haired 18-year-old back in 2006.
Not too bad either for someone who, when young, was so small that doctors predicted he would not grow to more than 5ft in height.
Advertisement
Hailing from Rosario, in Santa Fe Province of Argentine, Messi was just four years old when he started playing â with a little help from his grandma, Celia Cuccittini.
Though she passed away in 1998, before he grew up to become the legend he is today, itâs perhaps to her he owes everything.
âWhen I was four, I started playing at a club. Back then the team was one year older than me were playing and they needed a player, so my grandma told the coach âput him in into the team,â he previously recalled.
Advertisement
âThe coach said Iâm too small, but grandma always says, âplay him, play himâ.â
Time after time, even at this young age, he would prove his small stature was no handicap â even after he was left out of a match on the school playground on his first day of school.
He joined local club Newellâs Old Boys, where he continued to impress.
âWhen you saw him, you would think âThis kid canât play ball. Heâs a dwarf, heâs too fragile, too small,â their youth coach Adrian Coria said at the time
âBut immediately youâd realise that he was born different, that he was a phenomenon.â
Advertisement
His talent was undeniable, but as his peers grew, his height started to threaten any future he had in the sport.
A visit to the doctorâs office would reveal why, despite being 11, he still only stood at 4ft 4in and hadnât grown in two years.
The cause was Growth Hormone Deficiency, and without intervention, it was predicted he would grow to no taller than 4ft 7in.
Treatment was available. The problem was that intervention would cost north of $900 (ÂŁ680) every month, a financial hit that would be too much of a burden for both his family and club, especially since Argentina was in the midst of an economic crisis.
His saving grace would, in the end, be a signature on the back of a napkin.
Advertisement
Messiâs family, including his father, Jorge, had connections with local agents and all of them knew that if the wonderkid was to have a future, it would lie in Europe.
At the instance of agents Horacio Gaggioli and Josep Maria Minguella, it had been arranged for Messi to be flown to Barcelona for a two-week trial.
His family were put up in a hotel. Charly Rexach, the clubâs technical director, had been in Sydney to scout at the Olympics, and was now back to see how Messi would compare in a match against other kids two years his age.
Advertisement
In the dressing room were fellow future stars Cesc FĂ bregas and Gerard PiquĂ©, already training at Barcelonaâs legendary youth academy.
Fabregas recalled in a later tribute to Messi: âThe coach told me in the one to one exercise to be strong against you.
âI saw you were small, that I thought in a second I would take it away from you. Silly of me, you left me on the floor and from then on I saw that you were something different. â
But the decision lay with Rexach. He had barely walked half of the field from where he entered to make the decision.
âAfter two minutes, I had seen enough. I said, âWe have to sign this kid right nowâ,â he recalled.
Advertisement
Rexach was convinced â but the rest of the club werenât.
At the time, signing a player from outside Europe at such a young age was unprecedented.
Then there were the risks around having to put him through growth hormone therapy, and the need for his father.
The months went by, but there was still no news from the club. Come December, and Messiâs dad, Jorge, issued them with an ultimatum.
âSpeaking with Jorge on the phone, he told me, âIf this isnât sorted soon, weâre going. I have to return to Buenos Aires and I donât see anything happening,â Rexach recalled.
Advertisement
With such a talent on his hands, Rexach knew he couldnât waste any more time, and that date â December 14 â would go down in world footballing history.
Sitting down for lunch at the Pompeya tennis club, Rexach waved down a waiter and asked for a napkin, and wrote: âIn Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, FC Barcelonaâs 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.â
âI knew I wasnât following protocol,â said Rexach. âI had signed it, there were witnesses. Iâd done something I shouldnât have done in my position, but I was taking full responsibility.â
Gaggioli would go on to sell the napkin at auction in 2024 for a cool ÂŁ762,400.
Rising up the ranks, it wasnât long before a teenage Messi was being called up into the first team, his first competitive debut being age 17 in 2004.
Advertisement
Now, all these years later, he is the most decorated player in the history of football.
Little wonder that so many of the gameâs greats do not hesitate to say he is the greatest of all time.
