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Final dream.. Messi and Yamal meet for the first time 19 years after the famous photo
On Sunday night, soccer fans will turn their eyes to New York’s MetLife Stadium, where Spain and Argentina will meet in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in a historic clash that will bring together Argentine legend Lionel Messi and rising Spanish talent Lamine Yamal for the first time.
The game is a unique story between a player who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of football and a talent who is nominated by some as one of his most famous successors in international stadiums, as they are separated by 19 years, but they have many links, especially their formation at the FC La Masia academy, in addition to the shirt of the Catalan No1 team.
Although Messi and Yamal have never met in an official match before, their first encounter took place years ago, specifically a few months after the Spanish star was born, without either of them realizing that the moment would become one of the most iconic images in football history.
A 2007 photo of Messi and baby Yamal resurfaces
Before the 2024 European Cup of Nations. Lamin Yamal’s father reposted a rare photo of Lionel Messi, then 20 years old, helping to bathe his son, who was only 5 months old.after he was born on July 13, 2007.
The photo, taken by Spanish photographer Juan Montfort in December 2007, appeared in a 2008 charity calendar organized by the Barcelona Foundation in association with Catalan newspaper Sport, where a number of the team’s players took part in a photo shoot alongside children to raise money for UNICEF and other Catalan charities.
The child, Lamine Yamal, was present on that campaign accompanied by his mother, Sheila Ebana, while no one imagined at the time that the young child would become one of the most outstanding talents in world football years later, or that the young player next to him would become one of the legends of the game.
The photographer identified the child 17 years later
Photographer Juan Montfort was exposed in newspaper statements.The Athletic“In 2024, he did not know the identity of the child in the photo until years later when he found out that the child next to Messi was Lamin Yamal.
“It’s incredible,” Montfort said. “At the time, no one could have predicted that this kid would become a player of this stature. And no one knew that Messi would become the legend we know today. We are talking about 2007, when he was still at the beginning of his career at Barcelona.
The photographer added: “Fate plays an important role in such matters, the odds of such a thing were like winning the lottery.”
Montfort explained that the photography was not an easy task, saying: “I put a lot of effort into making it a success. Messi was shy at first, but then he was even more shy and suddenly found himself carrying a small child into a plastic tub full of water.
He noted that Lamin Yamal’s mother played an important role in the success of the photo, emphasizing that the child’s identity was revealed years later, when one of his colleagues from the “Sport” newspaper asked him about the photo.
“He asked me if this was my picture and I said yes,” Montfort said. “He sent me the picture, I asked who the kid was and he started laughing and said, “Lamin, lamin!”
“It’s definitely the most famous photo I’ve ever taken,” he added with a smile. “The probability of all this was equal to winning the lottery, it’s a one in a million chance.”
Yamal: Messi is the best player in history
Although Yamal was very young and does not remember the moment, he grew up with a great admiration for Lionel Messi, whom he considers one of the biggest sources of inspiration in his career.
Yamal said in previous statements to “Mundo Deportivo” newspaper. “Messi is the best football player in history and also the best athlete. To me, he’s not just another role model. Everyone respects him for what he has achieved and for the example he sets with his actions, and I hope to follow the same path.”
19 years after their photo shoot in Barcelona, Messi and Yamal are now set to write a new chapter in their story, but this time on the pitch and in the biggest game possible, the World Cup final.
