We all know Lionel Messi the star Argentinean footballer and one of the best forward in the world currently, but there are still many unknown and some of them downright weird facts about the 28-year-old which is relatively unknown. Here is bringing to you few of those unknown fun facts about FC Barcelona Star Lionel Messi, which we believe every Messi fan will find interesting.
- Messi might be one of the fittest Athletes there is right now but when he was 11, he was diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency, something which not only restricted his growth and height also made him suffer from lower immunity and poor vision.
- As a treatment, he had to inject human growth hormone externally for three years every single day. What is more Messi`s first club, River Plate, didn’t want to pay for his hormonal treatment as it was costly, and the family thus had to bear the cost of $1500 per month for three years to pay for Lionel`s treatment.
Lionel Messi at 11
- Messi signed his first contract with FC Barcelona on a Napkin Tissue paper. When he was just 13 years old FC Barcelona`s technical Secretary Carles Rexach, had approached Messi and his father in a Tennis Club on Dec. 14, 2000.
Rexach was so impressed with Messi that he determined to sign him then and there. Thus while the entire FC Barcelona technical team rushed to get a contract paper, they used the only available paper there was at that time to sign Messi, which it turned out to be was a Napkin Paper. Lionel thus signed a contract that read “In Barcelona, on the 14th of December of 2000 and in the presence of Josep Minguella and Horacio Gaggioli, Carles Rexach, FCB technical secretary, it commits under his responsibility and despite some views against it to sign the player Lionel Messi, as long as we remain within the amounts agreed upon.”
- The Spaniards were so impressed with Messi and his football skills that they in his early days with FC Barcelona had asked him to play for the Spanish under 20 national team. Messi though refused the offer and played for his country of birth Argentina and led even the Argentinean Under-20 team to victory in the FIFA Youth Championship.
Messi’s signed napkin contract with Barca
- While Messi`s football skills are very well known, there are very few people who know that his National debut for Argentina was a disaster where he was just able to play for 47 seconds before being Red Carded and sent off.
The match was played back in August 2005 against Hungary and at the time Messi was just 18 years old. He had just been substituted into the game for Lisandro Lopez in the 65th minute of the match and was then sent off 47 seconds later for elbowing Hungarian defender Vilmos Vanczak.
- According to Messi`s contract with FC Barcelona, if for whatever reason Barca ever decides to cancel their contract with Messi, they will have to pay Messi over $330 million for a breach in contract.
