The Only Exception

Splashing cold water onto his face as he tried to wake himself up, Lionel Messi sighed as he looked at himself in his bathroom mirror; the silence of the house made him swallow as he closed his eyes again as he tried to ignore the loneliness that he felt.

It had been like this for months since his ex-girlfriend had broken up with him and moved back to Argentina; things just hadn't work out for them and Lionel could understand that she was tired of being alone all the time while he was off playing football.

Ever since then Lionel hadn't been sure what to do with himself in the large four bedroom house that he lived in, he hated the silence and when he had attempted to date the women were only interested in how famous he was.

Lionel shook his head as he padded out of his en-suite and started to prepare for his meeting with the club to discuss a new contract, he knew that he couldn't be late and his agent would be here soon to collect him.

Lionel had given up on finding love months ago and with no sign of anything changing soon, his dreams of having a family were slowly slipping away.

Lionel knew he was being stupid and he had a long time to worry about all of that but he had always thought that he would settle down by now and have someone to enjoy his life with.

The footballer quickly dressed before he headed downstairs, his heart aching as he thought about the lives that his friends were all living.

Gerard Piqué and Cesc Fàbregas both had loving girlfriends and children of their own now while he had nothing.

***

"It's a pleasure to see you Lionel," Sandro Rosell said as he approached the club's top footballer, he hoped that today went well and that they would be able to convince Lionel to sign for Barcelona until the end of his career.

Lionel forced a smile to his face as he shook the presidents hand, he knew what they wanted and he had a feeling he'd probably agree because of how much he loved the club; but he was going to let his agent do all the bartering.

"So how are you today?" Sandro asked as he quickly ushered the footballer and his agent into their seats, he hoped that today would go well. Sandro knew what was at stake if he couldn't get Lionel to agree to a new contract; Lionel was important club and he needed him to stay.

Lionel nodded his head as he sat down, he wasn't in a hurry for this meeting to be over; he had the day off and when the meeting was over, he had only his empty home to go home to.

"Shall we just get to talking about the contract?" Guillermo Marin said as he glanced at Lionel, the footballer wasn't happy right now and it had nothing to do with his career but his personal life; he couldn't do anything about that since he was just a sports agent.

Sandro nodded his head warily as he looked at Lionel, it was clear to anyone that looked at the Argentinian that something was off about him; he didn't seem the happy-go-lucky man that everyone knew and loved anymore.

Lionel crossed his arms as he tuned out the talk around him about what everyone else wanted, he stared blankly at the wall behind one of the club staff and thought on his life; he couldn't believe that this was his life anymore.

"What about you Leo? Is there anything you want out of his contract?" Sandro asked as he watched the footballer, he didn't want this just to be a talk with the footballer's agent; he wanted to ensure that Lionel was happy to remain at Barcelona no matter the cost.

Lionel's blinked for a moment as he refocused on the talks, he wasn't expecting anyone to ask him something so soon and he had hoped that Guillermo would be able to handle any questions that they would have.

"Siento," Lionel murmured as he wondered what he had missed, he was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that everyone was now watching him with interest; he glanced at Guillermo for help as he tried to work out what he had missed.

"Is there anything you want? Terms? Conditions? Requests?" Sandro pressed as he continued to watch Lionel, he wanted his star player to be happy again and he didn't care what it took.

The silence was almost deafening as everyone waited to see what Lionel would say, they were all curious about what the footballer could want; he had the perfect life as far as anyone could see.

Lionel shook his head as he looked down at his hands, he listened carefully as they all went back to working on his new contract; he sighed relieved that they weren't focused on him anymore.

Lionel wasn't sure what the club could do to make his personal life better, he knew what he wanted and he knew that there was no way that they could give him the family that he craved.

It wasn't as if the club could just go out and find him a wife, he wanted someone to spend his life with and he didn't know what to do anymore to get to that point.

"I have a condition," Lionel said as all the negative thinking started to form a plan, he looked at his agent who was staring at him concerned; he should talk to him about this first but he knew what he wanted and he was sure that this was the only way that he would be able to find someone without their help anymore.

Sandro blinked as he stared at the footballer, he was a little surprised that the footballer had spoken up; he could see something flickering in his brown eyes and it made him a little nervous.

"I will sign anything you want me to within reason... if you must find me a wife," Lionel said pleased with himself, he could see that everyone was shocked at what he had said; it was crazy but he was sick of being alone and that this could be his only chance.

Guillermo looked at his client wondering what had brought this on, he knew that Lionel had been down lately since his break up and dating wasn't going well for him but he had never thought that Lionel would do this.

"You want what?" Sandro asked confused as he looked at Guillermo wondering if this was some sort of joke, he didn't know why Lionel would want them to do this for him; they had thought that everything was going well in the footballer's life.

Lionel swallowed as he took a deep breath, if he went through with this then there was no going back; it was something that he wanted and he was sure that it would work out.

"I want you to find me a wife... I've given up on finding love and I can't date normally, so you find me a wife and I'll sign for the club until I retire," Lionel bargained, he smiled pleased with his offer; he could see that everyone was dumbstruck at his words but this was what he wanted.

Guillermo blinked as he looked at his client, he wondered briefly if Lionel had thought about this clearly; he would be setting himself up to marry someone that he didn't know and could possibly hate and he wouldn't know until it was too late.

"Don't look so worried... you have final vetoing power," Lionel said as he looked at his agent, he was sure that by the end of the year he could have someone in his life; he couldn't contain the smile on his face as he wondered what she could be like.

The footballer just hoped that he wasn't making a big mistake in entrusting his future to these men, but he had a hunch that he was going to find something special.