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Rabat – A charity photograph taken almost 19 years ago has gained new meaning ahead of the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.
In December 2007, a 20-year-old Lionel Messi posed alongside five-month-old Lamine Yamal during a Barcelona Foundation charity photoshoot.
The now-famous image shows Messi helping bathe the baby in a small plastic tub, with Yamal’s mother, Sheila Ebana, standing beside them.
At the time, neither could have imagined that they would eventually face each other in a World Cup final.
A difficult but historic photoshoot
Photographer Joan Monfort took the picture for a charity calendar organized by Barcelona’s foundation and Spanish newspaper Diario Sport.
The money raised from the calendar was donated to UNICEF and other charities across Catalonia.
Monfort told The Athletic that the photoshoot was initially difficult because Messi was shy and had little experience interacting with a small baby.
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The photographer said the atmosphere gradually became more natural, allowing him to capture several tender images.
Other photographs from the session show Messi holding Yamal in a towel and standing alongside the baby’s mother.
The images remained largely unknown outside Yamal’s family until his father, Mounir Nasraoui, shared them on social media during Euro 2024.
‘Destiny plays an important role’
Monfort said nobody involved in the photoshoot could have predicted what Messi and Yamal would become.
Messi was still an emerging Barcelona player, competing in a team that included Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry and Carles Puyol.
He would later win eight Ballon d’Or awards and establish himself among football’s greatest players.
Yamal, meanwhile, joined Barcelona’s La Masia academy in 2014 before making his La Liga debut at the age of 15 in April 2023.
He made his Spain debut later that year and played a central role in the country’s Euro 2024 triumph.
Monfort described the connection between the photograph and Sunday’s final as a “one-in-a-million” coincidence.
Barcelona’s past meets Its future
The final will bring together two generations closely connected to Barcelona.
Messi spent 21 years at the Catalan club after joining its academy at the age of 13, becoming the most celebrated player in its history.
Yamal now wears Barcelona’s iconic No. 10 shirt and has frequently been described as the club’s natural successor to the Argentine legend.
However, the World Cup final will be the first official match in which the two players face each other.
Yamal previously said he hoped to exchange shirts with Messi in the final. That wish became possible after Spain defeated France and Argentina overcame England in the semifinals.
Monfort said he only realized the baby’s identity years later, after a former colleague contacted him when the photograph resurfaced online.
The photographer initially did not recognize Yamal and was stunned when he learned the baby had become one of football’s biggest young stars.
He now considers it the most famous photograph of his career.
What began as a small charity initiative has become one of football’s most extraordinary stories: Messi, then a young Barcelona talent, holding the baby who would one day face him on the sport’s biggest stage.
