Princess Sophia Grand Hotel is located north of Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium, about eight minutes' walk away.

This is a hotel that looks ordinary from the outside and does not have the slightest attention to others. It does not have the unique atmosphere of modern architecture, nor the slightest classical flavor, nor the so-called Catalan characteristics, but it is closely related to almost every major event that has happened in Barcelona in the past few decades.

Cruyff, Maradona, Rivaldo, and to the nearest Ronaldinho, the name of this hotel can be found behind almost every major event in Barcelona. Although its operation itself has nothing to do with the Barcelona club, it has played a pivotal position in the past few decades of Barcelona history.

In fact, even now, it still plays the same role.

Jorge Messi, when anyone sees this middle-aged man, the first feeling is that he looks really similar to Messi, and the second feeling is that he must be Messi's relative. Just like everyone saw Rodrigue Messi, the famous chef at Princess Sophia Grand Hotel, they all looked too similar.

The agent, spokesperson, housekeeper, driver, and private consultant Jorge have forgotten how many titles he has hung on him, and he even forgot how much he has helped Messi, but everyone knows very well that if you want to meet Messi, you must pass Jorge, his father.

Although Messi is now the world's leading superstar and ranked among the top professional stars, Jorge does not look like a celebrity or rich man. He wears a light brown suit, which at first glance gives people the illusion of being washed gray, while there is a pure black T-shirt inside and a pair of simple jeans on the lower body.

Not to mention ordinary dress, when walking on the street, there will probably be a lot of people pointing at him and scolding others.

But this is Jorge Messi, the father of the world superstar Messi

And everyone knows that although Messi is far away in London, his father Jorge returns to Barcelona every once in a while, because his second son Rodrigue's family lives here, he often runs back to see his grandson Augustine.

The most proud thing about Jorge's life is that he has two outstanding sons. Rodrigue is a famous chef near Barcelona, ​​and his youngest son Messi is the world's leading superstar. But the most depressing thing about his life is his eldest son, Matthias, who is ignorant. Fortunately, his eldest son has always lived in Argentina with his wife who is not used to living in Europe. Messi bought a very good villa for them in his hometown.

The coffee at Princess Sophia Grand Hotel's cafe is not delicious and not famous, but for some reason, it is very good at Club Barcelona. Perhaps this has something to do with Cruyff's favorite coffee here.

Someone once joked that one of the most important reasons why Cruyff was able to become Barcelona's football godfather, rather than being expelled like superstars such as Maradona and Rivaldo, was that he chose to integrate into Catalonia, became the son-in-law of the Catalans, spoke Catalan, and used his own initiative to integrate into exchange for his respect for him. This is a choice that other superstars who joined Barcelona were unwilling to make.

Therefore, although it is rare to hear people talk about Princess Sophia Grand Hotel, all the people in the Barcelona club will say the last word, see you in the cafe

Then, everyone naturally knew that Princess Sophia's Café in Grand Hotel.

Important signings and sales were almost all negotiated here.

The reason why Jorge is sitting in the cafe of Princess Sophia Grand Hotel, thinking about the Camp Nou Stadium not far away, as if it was still echoing the shock when he first saw this spectacular stadium, because someone just called him and told him that it was a long time no see, the cafe talked

The middle-aged man sitting in front of him is called Bach, an agent who is extremely familiar with and understands Argentine football.

But at Camp Nou, Bach has a very high position. He does not have any position in the club, but he can meet with the chairman and technical director at any time. He is also a crucial role in the current Barcelona president Laporta's campaign think tank because he represents Cruyff.

Jorge has worked in Barcelona. He has heard many people talk about Bach. He heard that he was the person Cruyff trusted the most. The relationship between the two dates back to the 1980s. After Cruyff retired, he was planning to build an agent empire with Gustavo, the most powerful agent in Argentina at that time, and bring Argentine players who are rich in stars to the world.

Although the plan failed later and Gustavo's agent dominance was soon replaced by Mascati, Cruyff made friends with Bach, who had been dating for decades. After Cruyff left the Barcelona coach, Bach worked as a sports reporter for Barcelona TV 3. Later, he was recommended by Cruyff and joined Laporta's think tank.

Over the years, Bach has always been Cruyff's most trusted assistant.

Perhaps because Bach had a special relationship with Argentine football, he had a good impression of Jorge and Messi and had a very good relationship with him. Many people didn't even know that Jorge finally decided to let Messi leave Barcelona because he heard Cruyff's appreciation for Ye Qiu from Bach, and finally made them decide to go to London.

Jorge was a little surprised that Bach knew that he had come back to Barcelona and made an appointment with him at the first time, but he was not a fool and vaguely guessed something. He knew that Barcelona was trying every means to pursue his son.

"This time I came back, I should be here to send tickets and take my family to Rome, right?" Bach called out a cappuccino, but he didn't move it before, and asked with a smile.

"Well, both Celia and Mattias have arrived." Jorge nodded with a smile.

"Is Mathias okay? Will he still cause trouble everywhere now?" Baqi was very familiar with their family and asked with a smile.

This brat has been uneasy since he was a child. He caused trouble, robbery, beat people, and intimidation when he was in Argentina. It looked like a gangster, but Bach was not surprised by this, because a lot of professional stars are from poor backgrounds, their family qualities are not good, and it is even more uncommon for gangster members.

So, many times, agents do not just help players deal with business and life matters, but also help players take good care of their families, such as going to the police station to bail the damn brother arrested for intimidation.

"It's still the same, but I'm much more restrained. I'm now responsible for managing some of our fixed industries in Argentina."

Baqi nodded when he heard this. To put it nicely, it was management, but to put it badly, that was to find a living place to save trouble. Moreover, with Messi's current property, it was not too much or too little. Argentina's economy has been so sluggish in recent years. What fixed industries can it have? It should be some shops and rents.

"It's quite suitable for Mathias. It's better to find him a companion as soon as possible, just like Rodrig," Bach said with a laugh.

When talking about the Barcelona chef, Jorge also laughed, which was also his pride.

"I heard that he intends to come out alone and open a restaurant by himself. Is it true?" Baqi asked again.

Jorge nodded, "Well, he has accumulated a lot of experience over the years. He lacked funds before, but now."

Bachi vaguely heard a clue, that is, there is no problem with the funding, "Are you still in Barcelona? To be honest, I really like his taste that combines Catalan and Argentine flavors, and it makes me drool."

"It shouldn't be. He plans to go to London to develop. He will probably pass when the contract expires this year."

"Oh" Bach understood a little. The word London represents too many meanings.

"Have you ever thought about staying in Barcelona? I believe that all Barcelona people will miss Rodrigue's cooking skills. He stayed and opened a high-end restaurant by himself, which should have great development potential. And I believe that if it is in terms of funds, there should be no problem, and I am also very interested in investing."

After a meal, Baqi laughed and said, "At least you don't have to worry about not being able to eat the chef's skills in the future."

"Haha" Jorge was also happy when he heard Bach praising his son like this. This made him feel more distressed than praising him in person. "In the future, if you make a name for yourself, I will let him open a family in Barcelona."

"Where is in London?" Bach asked again.

Jorge did not hide the "financial district" and there was no secret of this, "Mr. Ye Qiu's shop."

"Oh" Bach was not surprised, because he was right. In the past few years, Ye Qiu has used Tottenham to establish a real estate company, invested in many projects, and bought some shops with great potential, so he had long guessed that it would be like this. Judging from Jorge's expression of thanks when he mentioned Ye Qiu, the geographical location must be quite good, and the rent must have been given a friendly price.

Thinking of this, Baqi also knew that he could not continue to make a detour like this. "Jorge, for the sake of our long-term friendship, I hope you can answer my question honestly."

"Yes, you said" Jorge picked up the coffee in front of him and took a sip, hiding his embarrassment, because he knew very clearly that Bach would definitely ask questions.

"Did Messi really decide to transfer to Manchester City?" Bach asked with a serious look on his face.

Jorge used the quilt to block it while drinking coffee, for three seconds, then put it down, stuck out his tongue and licked the coffee foam beside his mouth, "Yes, the conditions they opened were so tempting."

"150 million euros? 300,000 weekly salary?" Bach was a little surprised.

“Yes, 150 million euros, cash, 300,000 weekly salary, after tax”

Bach was almost scared by the series of numbers in front of him, because he swears that there is absolutely no other football player in today's football that can give such an attractive price. Not to mention Tottenham Hotspur, even Barcelona, ​​no matter who Manchester City wants, they will definitely sell it.

"So, is it settled?" Bach was still a little unwilling, but his tone was obviously frustrated.

"It's basically settled," Jorge said lightly.

Baqi knew very well that this price and this treatment were impossible for any other team in the world to give it.

Thinking of this, he immediately remembered another move, shook his head and said, "I still remember, when you said you wanted to take Messi to London, you told me that you have made a name for yourself outside and you must return to Barcelona. But now it seems that you and Messi have forgotten what they said back then."

"I thank you very much, very much. Mr. Cruyff also helped me resolve the contract dispute with Messi. We have never forgotten this kind of kindness, really, never forgotten." Even if Jorge knew, Ye Qiu was secretly working here.

"Now Barcelona needs you to come back." Bachi's tone was a bit strong.

Jorge sniffed, "Bach, you know, Ye Qiu and Tottenham Hotspur are pretty good to us

"But was Barcelona not good to you back then?" Bach was obviously putting pressure.

"Very good, compared to when we were in Argentina, it was simply paradise." Jorge recalled everything that his family had just arrived in Barcelona, ​​raised his head, looked at Bacci, shook his head, and replied with great certainty: "But Messi and I don't owe Barcelona a little, right?"

"When we came to Barcelona from Argentina, Barcelona did not help my son treat his illness for free. They only took on a small part of the treatment costs. The rest was all I worked hard to fill in for the club. Later, I didn't have enough income. I went outside and worked three jobs at the same time. You know this. One was a coolie in the moving company, the other was picking seafood in the vegetable market, and the other was a beef for an Argentine restaurant. I met you in an Argentine restaurant. Do you remember?"

Barcelona has been promoting the public over the years that the club helped Messi treat his illness free of charge, hoping to use it as an emotional offensive. But in fact, Barcelona was also very worried back then and did not accept Messi at the beginning. On the contrary, they always suspected that Messi would become a dwarf.

The agreement reached with Barcelona at that time was very, very low for Barcelona, ​​because they only had to bear a small part of the treatment costs and introduced a job to Jorge so that they could survive in Barcelona without starving to death. How could Barcelona agree without such low conditions?

In Jorge's view, if you want to say thank you, the first thing you should thank is Ignacio, a doctor who is not a Barcelona fan. He kept encouraging Jorge and kept holding on until the end. Following up, I would like to thank several Barcelona youth training coaches. They knew that Messi needed nutrition in private and often took him home to eat and supplement nutrition.

He still remembers the names of those people, Antonio, Luke, Santiago

During that period, Rodrigue was also very smart and sensible. He went out to post advertisements, delivered goods for others, and worked as a handyman to supplement his family income.

So in the whole process, it cannot be said that Barcelona is not helpful to Messi and his family, but it is definitely not that great. It can even be said that it is just a simple task, because in their calculations at that time, as long as they pay a pitifully small price, they can leave this very skilled Argentinian. It doesn’t matter whether it is possible or not.

Bach knew that what Jorge was saying was true, but in fact, many people said that Barcelona's Messi was cured, which was just a kind of publicity, or news reports that did not pursue details, deliberately blurred the concept.

A football club cannot be a Shantang. At that time, Messi's monthly treatment cost was 500 or 600 euros, which seemed insignificant at first glance, but if the treatment lasted for a few years, the cost would be high. And I don't know if this Argentine boy could really become a talent, so no club would have such a thing.

Of course, if we look at it from the perspective of hindsight, Barcelona should have fully funded Messi's family at that time, not only to help him with free treatment, but also to take care of his nutrition and the family's life and work.

"Please ask you, Bach, my friend." Jorge looked at Bach with a sincere face, "I never deny that I am afraid of being poor. I hope Messi can transfer to Manchester City because he can make more and more money there, because in my opinion, football is not enough to support him and his family for a lifetime, so what I want to do is to make as much money as possible when he is still playing football. I believe that no one in the world can say I am wrong."

Bach listened to Jorge's confession, he really couldn't say anything. He knew Jorge too well.

Although Jorge seems to be very bold and has the shadow of an Argentine, he is actually very conservative. This can be seen from his almost harsh protection of Messi. He does not allow any woman or anyone who may affect Messi to get close to his son.

You can say he is cautious, you can say he is careful, but Bach knows that Jorge is sincere and does not make false statements.

There were several times when talking about leaving Argentina and coming to Barcelona, ​​Jorge said with tears in his eyes that if their family could not gain a foothold in Spain, they would go to a dead end, because they spent almost everything and even sold their property in order to come from Argentina to Spain. The relatives they defected to in Spain were themselves poor people and could not help them for a long time.

So Jorge often said, "Everything you see now is forced by life."

Perhaps, if there were no serious illness and hardships of the past, there would be no Messi today

Everyone, including Messi, knows that playing football has never been a job that he likes or not, but a career that can help him support his family. He has no choice
Chapter completed!