Why did Lionel Messi have a photo with Lamine Yamal as a baby?

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Lionel Messi was photographed holding a baby Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal celebrates a goal for Spain against France at Euro 2024.
Lamine Yamal celebrates a goal for Spain against France at Euro 2024. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lamine Yamal is the name on everyone’s lips after his stunning goal against France in the Euro 2024 semi-final. The 17-year-old became the youngest goal scorer in the tournament’s history with his superb curling strike.

It has been a remarkable rise to prominence over the last year for the teenager, who has become a regular for Barcelona. And there is plenty of excitement around his future after a hugely impressive Euro 2024 campaign.

Several posts on social media have highlighted how young Yamal really is. One pointed out that he was just 12 when the Covid-19 pandemic started. Another remarked that Yamal could play at World Cup 2038 before he turns 30.

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Why did Lamine Yamal have a photo with Lionel Messi?

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Perhaps the most astonishing thing to emerge on social media, though, was a photo of a young Lionel Messi holding a baby Yamal. It was taken for a charity calendar at Camp Nou in 2007 and resurfaced when the Spain star’s father reposted it on Instagram with the caption: “The beginning of two legends.”

The photographer, Joan Monfort, has since admitted that he did not know the baby was Yamal until very recently.

“Messi is a pretty introverted guy, he’s shy,” Monfort said. “He was coming out of the locker room and suddenly he finds himself in another locker room with a plastic tub full of water and a baby in it. It was complicated. He didn’t even know how to hold him at first.

“It’s very exciting to be associated with something that has caused such a sensation. To tell you the truth it’s a very nice feeling.”

Almost 17 years after the photo was taken, Yamal scored in a European Championship semi-final, just a few hours before Messi scored in a Copa America semi-final.  

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Callum Rice-Coates
Callum Rice-Coates

Callum is a football writer who has had work published by the likes of BBC Sport, the Independent, BT Sport and the Blizzard, amongst various others. A lifelong Wrexham fan, he is hoping Ryan Reynolds can lead his hometown club to the promised land.