Old photos of a young Lionel Messi with an infant Lamine Yamal have resurfaced and gone viral, just as Yamal’s outstanding performance at the 2024 European Championship captured widespread attention.
In the heartwarming photos, Messi is seen bathing a young Yamal, an image first shared by the teenager’s father, Mounir Nasraoui.
Football fans have humorously suggested that Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup champion, somehow transferred his extraordinary skills to Yamal during that bath.
Yamal etched his name in the record books by becoming the youngest player to score in the European Championship, at just 16 years and 362 days old, with his historic goal coming in the semi-final clash against France in Munich on Tuesday.
Before this, he had already set the record as the youngest player ever in the ongoing Euro 2024 in Germany and has been praised as one of the best players on Spain’s national team during the tournament.
The BBC reported that the photos were captured by Joan Monfort, a freelance photographer who contributes to the Associated Press.
In December 2007, Monfort snapped a photo of a 20-year-old Lionel Messi, already four years into his illustrious Barcelona career, cradling a tiny Yamal, who was just six months old at the time.
“It was a difficult photo to take. We can say I sweated some blood to take it. Messi is still shy now; he was much more shy when he was starting out and he finds himself there with a tiny baby in a plastic bath full of water. And with his mother. At the start, there was not much interaction. It was difficult for all of them. But, bit by bit, it started to happen and in the end, it’s a pretty good photo,” Monfort told The Athletic.
The photo was featured in a 2008 charity calendar, a collaborative project between Barcelona’s foundation and Diario Sport, with proceeds benefiting various charitable organizations, including UNICEF and local NGOs in Catalonia, supporting vulnerable communities and children. The charity calendar featured photos of Barcelona players alongside children.
The Athletic reports that “hundreds of families collaborated with the initiative for a number of years and most of the photos have now been forgotten, outside of the families of the children who have treasured private memories.”
In a remarkable twist of fate, Yamal, Barcelona’s budding sensation, was paired with Messi, now a beloved club icon.
“It’s something incredible. Back then, nobody could imagine that this baby would be who he is now — and you could not have known that Messi would become who he became, either,” Monfort said.
The bathtime photo, along with other tender moments from the photoshoot, have now resurfaced. The rediscovered images show Messi tenderly cradling baby Yamal in a towel and Yamal’s mother, Sheila Ebana, playfully washing her son.
In December 2007, Messi was still a rising star in a star-studded Barcelona squad, having already won two La Liga titles and a Champions League at just 20 years old.
“They gave you a list of players — 12: one for each month. You have to take your time. Often footballers come in and say, ‘Let’s go, let’s do it. I’m in a rush; what do you want to do?’”
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