Famous napkin contract and Real Madrid transfer threat – How Lionel Messi’s dad guided son through iconic career

JORGE MESSI died in Rosario aged 68 on Friday night following a long battles with illness.

A driving force behind son Lionel’s outstanding career, tributes poured in for Jorge.

Barcelona expressed their “deepest condolences”, while Jorge’s beloved Newell’s Old Boys spoke of their “deep sorrow and grief”.

A former steel factory worker, Jorge went on to play a huge role in arguably the greatest football career of all time.

He sent Leo, the youngest of three brothers and older sibling to sister Maria Sol, to play for Newell’s from the age of six.

The future superstar obviously immediately oozed talent, but suffered from a growth hormone deficiency which threatened to kibosh his career before it had even started.

When Newell’s stopped paying for treatment, Jorge knew that he had to do something.

He convinced Barcelona to take a look at his son, and accompanied his 14-year-old boy to Europe as he took part in a two-week trial with the Catalan giants in September 2001.

Then-Barca director Carles Rexach was convinced, Leo’s talent was obvious.

But with the LaLiga giants in financial peril at the time, other club chiefs hesitated over whether the swoop for Messi was worth what was considered such a large expense at the time.

Sweating over his son’s growth hormones treatment, which still needed to be paid for, Jorge began looking at other potential moves.

He had been turned down by Argentine giants River Plate, but Real Madrid and Atletico began to circle.

At a now-legendary meeting at a tennis club in December 2001, the deal to bring Messi to Barca was sealed… via a napkin.

Speaking to ESPN, Rexach recalled: “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 [Josep Maria] Minguella and Horacio [Gaggioli] 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.’

“That was when, thinking on my feet, I decided everything.”

Rexach wrote on a napkin, in Spanish: “In Barcelona, on Dec. 14, 2000, in the presence of 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.”

The document, which was legally binding, if unorthodox, was signed by Rexach and other Barca chiefs Minguella and Gaggioli – and went on to be flogged at auction two years ago for a staggering £762,400.

From this point onwards, Jorge was his son’s agent, confidante and father rolled into one.

As Leo’s mother Celia and three siblings returned to Rosario, Jorge stayed with his golden child in Barcelona – even insisting that his boy live with him in a city apartment, rather than boarding with the other kids at La Masia.

Messi told Radio del Plata in 2007: “My dad was always by my side.

“Sometimes I would lock myself in my room to cry when we arrived in Barcelona, or my dad would do the same without me seeing him, or thinking I didn’t see him.

“We pretended we were both OK, but we weren’t. My dad even asked me what I wanted to do when we were feeling down, if I wanted to stay or go back, and I wanted to stay, and he stayed with me.”

While Messi progressed through La Masia, Jorge negotiated his first professional contract in 2004, before Barca were forced to fend off significant interest from Inter Milan two years later.

As Leo’s star rose, so did his earning potential – and without a super-agent in tow, it was down to Jorge to capitalise.

The Argentine has had lucrative deals with the likes of Adidas, Pepsi, Budweiser and Konami, to name just a few, during his brilliant career.

In 2017, Jorge negotiated a four-year, €555 million contract, worth around £480m at the time, making his son the highest-paid athlete EVER.

Leo then went on to spend two forgettable seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, before Jorge assisted in another landmark deal three years ago.

In addition to his basic salary at Inter Miami, Messi takes a cut of Apple TV’s broadcast deal with MLS, which is claimed to be worth around $50m (£37m) to the global icon.

Also in 2023, investment firm Play Time was launched – yet another revenue stream for Brand Messi.

Jorge suffered with a long-term illness prior to his death, and was unable to watch his boy at the World Cup this summer – a factor that is thought to have contributed to Messi’s emotional outburst during his side’s opening victory of the tournament.

Leo’s father leaves behind a huge legacy as the man that brought up the greatest footballer of all time.

Newell’s fitting tribute read: “Jorge was the support and the person who, together with his wife, Celia, strengthened the career of the greatest player of all time with vision, rigour and affection.

“His constant support and behind-the-scenes leadership were fundamental in supporting every step of Lionel’s journey.”