Imagine a world without Lionel Messi: why football talents need your support

At an age where children should be carefree, Leo was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. His family and the club he played for paid for part of his treatment, but the club didn't want to offer him a contract due to his health issues. If his parents hadn't dared to take him to Spain, we would probably never have heard of Leo, certainly one of the greatest football players of our time.

Leo's story is slightly different from other young talents with modest backgrounds, as he has been part of the same football club for 20 years. However, when he arrived in Spain, he was simply a very talented kid looking for a club that would have the patience to invest in him, help him overcome his health problems and then, in time, make their investment pay off. Leo was lucky to find this club. Not many talented players are this lucky.

The first earnings he made were probably at the age of 14. Although he still didn't have a professional contract, he received a "scholarship" of around €5,000 a year. Once he signed his first contract, he started getting paid €45,977 per season and a bonus of €1,503 for every official match. These figures, of course, continued to rise considerably with each passing year.

Consider Leo's case a lucky one. How many other talented youngsters’ first contract will be with a club that is a member of a foremost European League, present in the Champions League year after year? For all these talented young players – those who just can’t seem to catch a break and land the needed funding to reach their full potential – we invented Nordensa.

Fans can fund and bring talented young players to major European football clubs on this platform. And if they make it big, their funders also make it big, owning 3% of the player's salary for 5 years.

Are you ready to make dreams come true? Who knows, you might just be part of the group of funders who support the next La Pulga.