Messi on Famous Photo With Baby Yamal: ‘It’s Crazy, That’s Life’

Rabat – In December 2007, Lionel Messi took part in a Barcelona charity photoshoot with a baby he had never met.

That child was Lamine Yamal.

Almost 19 years later, the pair are preparing to stand on opposite sides of the pitch as Argentina face Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.

Messi is now 39 and may be preparing for his final World Cup appearance.

Yamal, only 19, has already become Spain’s leading attacking figure and one of the biggest young stars in world football.

Their first meeting took place when Messi was still an emerging Barcelona player, and Yamal was just five months old.

The now-famous pictures show Messi helping bathe the baby in a small plastic tub during a charity calendar shoot organized by Barcelona’s foundation in cooperation with UNICEF and Spanish newspaper Diario Sport.

On Sunday, their second meeting will take place on football’s biggest stage.

Messi reflects on ‘crazy’ coincidence

Speaking in New York ahead of the final, Messi admitted that the story was difficult to comprehend even for him.

“Honestly, that photo of us is crazy,” he said. “I took a photo with him as a baby, and here we both are, facing each other in a World Cup.”

Messi said he had closely followed Yamal’s development because of the teenager’s connection to Barcelona, the club where the Argentine spent the majority of his career.

He described Yamal as one of the world’s leading players and commended the level he has reached at such a young age.

Messi also wished him success in the years ahead, while making clear that Argentina will attempt to prevent the Spanish forward from making history in Sunday’s final.

“What is good for him will also be good for Barcelona,” Messi said.

A Photograph nobody could have predicted

Photographer Joan Monfort captured the images as part of a yearly charity project that paired Barcelona players with local children.

Monfort later recalled that the session was initially uncomfortable because Messi was shy and did not know how to interact with the baby.

Yamal’s mother, Sheila Ebana, helped during the shoot, and the atmosphere gradually became more relaxed.

The result was a series of photographs showing Messi bathing Yamal and later holding him while wrapped in a towel.

At the time, Messi had already begun establishing himself in Barcelona’s senior team but was still surrounded by more experienced stars such as Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol.

Nobody present could have known that Messi would go on to win eight Ballon d’Or awards or that the baby in front of him would become Barcelona’s next No. 10.

Monfort later described the coincidence as similar to winning the lottery.

The photographs remained largely private until Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, shared them on social media during Euro 2024.

Two careers connected by Barcelona

Messi and Yamal followed different paths to the same club.

Messi left Rosario, Argentina, to join Barcelona’s La Masia academy at the age of 13. He later scored more than 700 goals for the club and won four Champions League titles and 10 La Liga championships.

Yamal was born near Barcelona and joined the club’s youth system as a child.

He made his senior debut at the age of 15 and quickly developed into an important player for both Barcelona and Spain.

He now wears the No. 10 shirt that Messi made famous during his years at the Camp Nou.

The teenager enjoyed his strongest club season before the World Cup, scoring 24 goals and providing 18 assists in 45 appearances for Barcelona.

Despite the similarities in their careers, Yamal has consistently rejected comparisons with the Argentine.

He has repeatedly described Messi as the greatest player in football history but insists that he wants to build his own career rather than become someone else’s successor.

“I don’t want to be him,” Yamal previously said. “I want to follow my own path.”

Fate delayed their first meeting on the pitch

Messi and Yamal had been expected to meet earlier in 2026 when Argentina and Spain were scheduled to play the Finalissima.

But the match was cancelled, delaying their first encounter on the field.

The final will give Messi the chance to lead Argentina to their fourth World Cup title.

Yamal, meanwhile, can help Spain win the trophy for only the second time and become a world champion before turning 20.

He has also said that the player whose shirt he most wants to receive is Messi, and that he hoped the exchange would happen after a World Cup final.

That wish is now one match away from becoming reality.

A photograph taken for a charity calendar in 2007 has become the beginning of one of the most remarkable stories surrounding a World Cup final: the young Barcelona player bathing a baby who would one day attempt to stop him from lifting football’s greatest trophy.