The anniversary of the day that changed soccer forever

Today its the 20th anniversary of a day that changed soccer forever. And also led a lot of questions about what would have happened if things were different. If any little detail would not have gone on as happened, everything would be very different now. But the soccer world is more than grateful everything happened as it had to be.

In 2000, a little boy was 13 years old and was incredibly good at soccer, but two clubs in his homeland, including the one he was a fan, had rejected him due to an illness. But this top club from the other side of the world contacted him and made him travel with his father, and he took a couple of trials.

But the club hesitated when it had to make a decision, and almost lost the signing of the kid. When the deadline came, the scout of the club grabbed a napkin of a restaurant, wrote a model of a contract and signed it as a promise of signing the kid. That napkin ended up being, without a doubt, the most important document in the history of soccer.

That little kid was Lionel Messi, and the club was FC Barcelona. Charles Rexach made the effort of signing him on December 14th 2000, after he was rejected by Newell's and River Plate. Messi joined La Masía and five years later he was part of the first team. And the rest is history.