Carles Rexach
A dazzling winger for Barcelona's 'Dream Team', he later, as a scout, famously secured a teenage Lionel Messi with a contract on a napkin.
Born 1947 (age 79)·Spanish footballer·Birthday: January 13·Baby Boomers
Biography
Carles Rexach's life is woven into the fabric of FC Barcelona in two distinct, brilliant threads. First, as a player: a graceful, intelligent left-winger with a venomous shot, he was a fixture of the successful Barcelona sides of the 1970s and a key component of Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team' as a veteran player and later assistant coach. His understanding of the game's geometry and his commitment to Cruyff's attacking philosophy made him a vital conduit between the maestro and the squad. But his second act may have had an even greater impact. As the club's sporting director in 2000, he received a call about an astonishing Argentine teenager playing in the youth ranks. Facing competition and bureaucratic delays, Rexach took decisive action. In a now-legendary meeting with the boy's father at a tennis club, with no official paper at hand, he scribbled a commitment on a paper napkin: 'I, Carles Rexach, agree to sign Lionel Messi.' That informal document set in motion the signing that would define modern football. Rexach's legacy is thus both as a fine practitioner and the man who helped secure a genius.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Carles was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Carles Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Carles's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 70
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 79 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Played over 450 games for FC Barcelona, winning La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the European Cup Winners' Cup.
- Was an integral player and later assistant coach for Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team' that won Barcelona's first European Cup in 1992.
- As sporting director, he was instrumental in the contractual agreement that brought a young Lionel Messi to Barcelona.
- Represented Spain at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina.
Did You Know?
The famous 'napkin contract' for Messi was signed at the Pompeia Tennis Club in Barcelona in December 2000.
He scored one of the most famous goals in Barcelona history, a spectacular volley against Anderlecht in the 1979 Cup Winners' Cup.
Before his football career, he was a promising tennis player.
He briefly served as the interim head coach of Barcelona in 2002, between the tenures of Serra Ferrer and Louis van Gaal.
“Barça is not just a club; it is a feeling in your heart.”
