From baby photo to World Cup final: Messi and Lamine Yamal's incredible full-circle story
- Last updated: July 17, 2026 | 18:50
A photo taken inside Barcelona's Camp Nou dressing room in 2007 has become one of the most widely shared images in the football world. It shows Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, then at the beginning of his career with Barcelona, alongside a baby boy just five months old. Years later, that baby would become Spain's rising star Lamine Yamal.
The photo has taken on extraordinary significance as Spain and Argentina prepare to meet in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final. Messi and Yamal are set to share the same pitch in a battle for football's biggest prize, nearly 19 years after their first encounter—when no one could have imagined what the future held.
A charity draw that brought Messi and Yamal together
The story began in December 2007, when FC Barcelona, in collaboration with newspaper Diario Sport and UNICEF, organized a charity photoshoot for an annual calendar, with proceeds supporting humanitarian causes.
Families were selected through a lottery to participate in the photoshoots alongside Barcelona players, and Lamine Yamal's family was among the winners. At the time, Yamal was just five months old, while Messi was a promising young player in his twenties who had yet to win the Ballon d'Or or cement his legendary status.
Messi and baby Lamine Yamal
Messi was paired with the infant for the photoshoot, which was captured by Spanish photographer Juan Monfort.
The now-famous images show Messi gently holding the baby in a small bathtub before helping to bathe him, surrounded by the smiles of Yamal's family. Messi appeared reserved and shy throughout the session.
The photos attracted little attention at the time, appearing only in the charity calendar before fading from public memory for many years.
They resurfaced after Lamine Yamal's rapid rise with Barcelona and the Spanish national team, when his family shared one of the old photographs featuring Messi.
The image quickly spread across media outlets and social media after fans realized that the baby in Messi's arms had become one of football's brightest young stars. It sparked worldwide interest, particularly as comparisons between the two players intensified following Yamal's emergence at Barcelona and his admiration for the Argentine legend.
Similar paths: Messi and Yamal
Like Messi, Yamal came through Barcelona's famed La Masia academy before breaking into the club's first team at a remarkably young age.
Both players are left-footed, operate primarily on the right wing, and began their Barcelona careers wearing the No. 19 shirt. Yamal later inherited the iconic No. 10 jersey, famously worn by Messi for more than a decade.
The Spanish youngster has already become one of the youngest record holders in the history of both Barcelona and the Spanish national team, further fueling comparisons with the Argentine captain.
A World Cup final gives the photo new meaning
The image has taken on a new significance with Spain and Argentina reaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, where Messi and Yamal are set to face each other on the pitch for the first time.
The highly anticipated meeting comes after the cancellation of the Finalissima—not "Vinalesima"—which had been expected to pit the two nations against each other in March 2026.
Instead, their first competitive meeting will take place on football's grandest stage, bringing the iconic photograph back into the spotlight as the beginning of an extraordinary story connecting one of the game's greatest legends with one of its brightest new stars.