How Barcelona signed Rafa Márquez for a bargain price

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Joan Laporta, candidate for the Barcelona presidency, remembered the absurd price they paid for Rafael Márquez

Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta revealed what it was like to hire former Mexican footballer Rafael Márquez, which was not one of the club’s goals, but the price made it a very attractive option.

In statements to the channel YouTube ‘Iniestazo’ Laporta, who is currently looking for his second term at the helm of Barcelona, ​​indicated that when he took charge of the culé team in 2003, they analyzed the signing of Roberto Ayala, but a proposal from Jorge Mendes changed everything.

“The broker was Jorge Mendes and we had just won the election and a few of us were eating. We were planning for the season and they were trying to sell us to triple A, Ayala, Albelda and Aimar and Ayala was 30 years old, had significant experience and a trajectory, so it cost money ”, the manager explains.

“And this agent (Jorge) comes and says congratulations President, I have a great center-back for Barça, Rafa Márquez, and I answered that I know him, he is very good. Jorge tells us: “If I bring him to Barça for five million (euros), will they sign him?” I thought it was very hard for him to bring him for five million but I gave him his hand and if he brings him for five million we have to sign him because the president of Barcelona only has one word and his word law ”, he said.

After that first meeting, Jorge Mendes returned to Barcelona with the ‘Kaiser’ and a letter from Monaco willing to sell Márquez for five million euros. Four years earlier, the Ligue 1 team had paid Atlas 4.5 million, so Laporta immediately accepted the proposal.

“Two weeks pass and the front desk secretary tells me she’s bringing a boy and says she’s meeting you but I hadn’t met anyone yet but she told me it was someone who was from Monaco and then I started to link the story. (Jorge) came in and told me, ‘President, here I have the letter from Monaco that they are selling Rafa Márquez for five million euros’ and negotiations with the others were cut off and we signed Márquez,’ said he.

Rafael Márquez spent seven years with Barcelona and during that time became one of the main players of the Catalan team. The Mexican has won four LaLiga titles, two Champions League, Club World Cup and other titles, among others.

Via his official Twitter account, Márquez joked about the little money Barcelona paid for his services.

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