The Journey - FINDING MESSI
https://www.coachesvoice.com/carles-rexach-lionel-messi-barcelona/ Carles Rexach Technical director, Barcelona, 1999-2001 “Charly, this kid is a phenomenon. You’ve got to watch him.” I was in Uruguay, in Montevideo, after visits to Paraguay and Brazil. I was talking to Horacio Gaggioli , an Argentinian agent who was also an expert in youth football. He had contacted me because he wanted to bring a young player to my attention. That young player was Lionel Messi . I thought he was talking about a player of 17 or 18 years of age. But no, this kid was 13. “I’m not going to watch him,” I told Horacio. “It is just too difficult to sign someone that young.” There were several things that made it difficult. Messi didn’t qualify as an EU player, and it was difficult to start a file on such a young player. There was also the issue that such a young kid would only be seen as a very long-term project. And then there was his family. What would his mum and dad do in Barcelona ? But Horacio kept in