Spain’s Mikel Merino was like many of us this week when he first saw the viral photos of a 20-year-old Lionel Messi bathing a five-month old Lamine Yamal during a 2007 calendar photoshoot for UNICEF.
“The first time I saw it, I thought it was AI and that it wasn’t even real,” Merino said Friday.
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The photos are real and have resurfaced this week as Messi’s Argentina and Yamal’s Spain will meet on Sunday in the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (3 p.m. ET; Fox).
When asked about the chance meeting then and now facing off for a World Cup title 19 years ago, Messi couldn’t help but express his disbelief at the situation
“He is one of the best players in the world right now, so I wish him the best. He’s only 19 years old and he has all of his future ahead,” Messi said during Friday’s pre-World Cup final press conference. “That picture, it was crazy. Him as a baby, and now we are facing each other. What a crazy picture. I just wish him the best of luck.”
Messi said he’s followed Yamal’s career as he’s blossomed with Barcelona, a club he still has love for. He added that while the young Spain star has a great opportunity in front of him with the World Cup on the line, Messi and his Argentina teammates will try to prevent that from happening.
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“It’s crazy. He’s one of the best in the world right now, no doubt about it,” Messi said. “And I wish him a lot of luck, because what’s good for him will also be good for Barcelona.”
Chance encounter through a raffle
In December 2007, a 20-year-old Messi was introduced to a five-month old Yamal during a charity calendar photo shoot put together by Barcelona’s foundation and Spanish sports newspaper Diario Sport. The event was an annual tradition put together by the La Liga side with players photographed with children.
Freelance photographer Joan Monfort told The Associated Press in 2024 that the Yamals won a raffle, which was held in conjunction with UNICEF, to have their young son take a picture with a Barcelona player. Little did they know who would be part of the photo and the history it would make.
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Baby Yamal was joined by his mother inside the visiting locker room at Camp Nou in the fall of 2007. There sat a plastic bathtub filled with soapy water and a very young, future soccer star not knowing what was going on. Messi, more of an introvert, was unsure of how to interact with the infant, Monfort recalled.
The photos resurfaced online two years ago when Yamal’s father posted on Instagram with the caption, “the beginning of two legends.”
Messi was already several years into his professional career by that time and had won two league titles and the Champions League. Seven years later, Yamal joined Barcelona’s famed La Masia youth academy to start his journey toward becoming a professional player.
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In April 2023, a 15-year-old Yamal made his Barcelona debut wearing the famed No. 10 jersey, which Messi also wore. Five months later, he was called up to Spain’s national team. The following summer he was a key part La Roja‘s win at Euro 2024.
“This has exploded all over the world, and the fact that the final is in the U.S. has given it the extra push,” Monfort told the AP this week. “And now this has culminated with the final between Messi and Yamal. It is better than any film script.”
