'Messi was born to play football'

Messi was flown to Barcelona in 2000 by technical staff, including Rexach, to carry out an assessment as they were all wildly impressed with his talents: a young boy who had abilities previously unwitnessed by the staff.
In an interview with 'The Sun', Rexach recounted his initial impressions of the Argentine: "Football is a team game, right? But this kid could play all on his own, he took the ball and beat other players and scored a goal. He had abnormal ability. All instinct. He was born to play football.''
Making the permanent move to Spain proved difficult in terms of logistical issues. Rexach knew that he had to sign Messi at all costs, which led to one of the most significant football signings in history, taking place on a napkin.
The club had not yet managed to draft a contract but Rexach was adamant of securing the youngster, recalling: ''I gave him [Messi's father] my word that we were going to sign his boy and as proof I would sign a piece of paper. So I asked the waiter and he brought me a napkin! So I wrote that, as the technical director of the Football Club Barcelona, I was committed to signing Leo Messi and I signed the napkin.''
Messi has remained with the Catalan club ever since, scoring 539 goals in 624 first-team appearances to become of the best players the footballing world has ever seen.