image source, Joan Monfort/AP
signature, In a photo taken in 2007, Messi holds baby Yamal in his arms.
Published July 15, 2026
Reading time: 3 minutes.
This event happened in 2007.
Lionel Messi was photographed with a child in the dressing room of the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona during a photo shoot for a charity calendar.
Messi was only 20 years old at the time.
His name was just beginning to shine on the world stage, and it became clear that in the coming years he would become a star in the football world.
Read on
But little did the photographer imagine that the child in Messi’s arms would soon follow in Messi’s footsteps and create a new sensation in the world of football before he turned twenty.
Lamin Yamal is the child Messi held in his arms.
There is a lot of talk about Yamal, a player from Spain. Spain beat France to reach the FIFA World Cup final. Yamal played a very important role in this success.
Spain beat France, one of the strongest teams to win the title, in the semi-finals in Dallas.
Now, if Argentina wins the semi-final between Argentina and England, Messi and Lamin Yamal will face each other.
“The Beginning of Two Winners”
Lamin Yamal has never lost for the Spanish national team.
He won all 12 matches in which he started, including the World Cup and Euro Series. He is the only European player to record a 100% first stage win percentage in both of these series.
Lamin Yamal impressed everyone with his impressive performance at the 2024 European Championships.
image source, Kaz Photography/Getty Images
He was not even 17 years old then.
He was 16 years and 362 days old. I mean, my 17th birthday is just a few hours away. With this goal, he became the youngest scorer in the history of the series.
It was then that this long-forgotten old photo of Messi and Yamal again attracted everyone’s attention.
Yamal’s father then posted a photo on Instagram with the caption “The beginning of two giants.”
What is the story behind this photo?
These photos were taken by Associated Press freelance photographer Joan Monfort.
He then said that UNICEF held a lottery in Mataro, where the Lamina family lives, after which a photo shoot took place.
“He took part in a lucky draw by having his photo taken with Barca players at the Camp Nou, which he won,” Manforth told The Associated Press.
image source, Joan Monfort/AP
“Messi is very shy,” he said, adding that the task was a bit difficult.
“He was leaving the locker room and suddenly he was in another locker room. There was a plastic bathtub full of water and there was a child inside it,” he said.
“The situation was a little difficult. At first he didn’t even know how to hold the baby,” he said.
Like Messi, Yamal also began playing for Barcelona. There he became the youngest player to score a goal in the club’s history and the youngest player to score in the Spanish league.
In 2024, after the photo went viral on the Internet, Monfort said he realized the child was Yamal.
“It’s really cool that we’re associated with something that’s caused such a big stir,” he shared, adding, “It’s a great feeling, honestly.”
“I knew Lamin would become a star”
Lamin’s parents also immigrated from Africa.
His father, Monir Narzoi, was born in Morocco, and his mother, Sheila Ibana, was from Guinea. They lived in a suburb of Barcelona.
image source, Reuters
“We knew from the moment he was born that he would be a star,” his father proudly told reporters before the Euro 2024 final.
As a child, he met the greatest football player in history, Lionel Messi.
Argentine Messi was only 20 years old at the time and was visiting UNICEF.
He was photographed with Lamin at the Barcelona football club.
“Lamin’s blessing was a coincidence in his life,” Lamin’s father says mischievously.
Now, if Argentina and Spain meet in the final, Messi and Yamal will face each other. As special as this moment is for football fans around the world, it will be just as special for Yamal.
– This is a collective publication of BBC news.