Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal are set to face each other on the pitch in an upcoming World Cup final, a match-up that carries a unique historical footnote: the two stars were photographed together in 2007 when Yamal was a five-month-old infant. The images, captured by photographer Joan Monfort in the Barcelona locker room, show a 20-year-old Messi bathing the future Spanish international in a plastic tub.
The Origin of the Viral Messi-Yamal Photos
The photographs were not a staged celebrity encounter but the result of a routine charity initiative. In December 2007, the Barcelona Foundation and the newspaper Diario Sport collaborated on a charity calendar to benefit UNICEF. According to photographer Joan Monfort, families from the local area were invited to enter a raffle for the chance to have their children photographed with Barcelona players.
Lamine Yamal’s parents, Mounir Nasraoui and Sheila Ebana, won a spot in the raffle. The family traveled from Mataró, approximately 40 kilometers from Barcelona, to the Camp Nou stadium. Monfort, who shot the images, noted that the pairing between the young Messi and the infant was entirely random. At the time, neither the athlete nor the family could have anticipated that the baby would eventually become a star for Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
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Photographer Joan Monfort revealed that the shoot was initially challenging because the young Messi was shy and unsure how to handle a baby in a plastic tub. He noted that the infant’s mother played a crucial role in keeping the child calm until the session became a success.
From Charity Calendar to Professional Rivalry
For nearly two decades, the images remained largely unknown to the public. They resurfaced in 2024 after Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, shared one of the photos on Instagram with the caption, “The beginning of two legends.” The images gained significant traction as Yamal played a key role in the Spanish national team that won the 2024 European Championship.
Yamal joined the Barcelona youth system in 2014 and made his senior team debut in April 2023 at age 15. By 16, he had already secured a spot in the Spanish national team. The visual narrative of the two players—once linked by a bath-time photo and now linked by their professional roles—has been widely described by Monfort as the type of story that would seem implausible if written for a film script.
The Future of Soccer Prodigies
The rapid ascent of Lamine Yamal has led many to view him as the talented successor to Messi. He currently wears the number 10 shirt at Barcelona.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How did the Messi and Yamal photoshoot happen?
It was part of a 2008 charity calendar project organized by the Barcelona Foundation and Diario Sport to raise funds for UNICEF. Parents entered a raffle, and the winners were randomly paired with players.
When did the photos go public?
While taken in 2007, the photos remained obscure until 2024, when they were shared on social media by Yamal’s father during the European Championship.
Are Messi and Yamal related?
No. Their connection is purely coincidental, stemming from the 2007 charity event held at the Camp Nou stadium.
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