Messi and Yamal’s baby photo gets a World Cup final sequel
Lionel Messi praised Lamine Yamal before Argentina face Spain, years after posing with him as a baby for a Barcelona charity calendar.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Lionel Messi once posed for a charity calendar while bathing baby Lamine Yamal. On Sunday, the pair are due to meet on the biggest stage in soccer: Argentina against Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.
Messi, Argentina’s captain, called the 2007 image “incredible” on Friday as he spoke at FIFA’s Fanatics Fest in New York. The 39-year-old said he had taken a picture with Yamal when the Spain winger was an infant, and said the fact they are now both involved in a World Cup final felt “crazy.”
The photo was shot at FC Barcelona’s stadium for a charity calendar organized by the newspaper Sport and UNICEF. Yamal later became a Barcelona standout, while Messi was already on his path to becoming one of the club’s defining figures.
Now Yamal, 19, is set to face Messi at senior international level for the first time, according to the report.
Messi praises Spain’s teenage danger man
Messi had warm words for Yamal before the final, while making clear Argentina do not plan to give him a free ride.
Messi said Yamal is among the best players in the world at the moment and called him a “tremendous player” and a “global star.” He also said Yamal’s success would be good for Barcelona, but Argentina would try to stop him from producing his best football in the final.
Messi added that Spain’s threat goes beyond Yamal, saying the team is strong across the pitch. He said Argentina also have their own ways to hurt opponents and will give everything to prevent Yamal from becoming world champion this time.
The final gives the viral image a tidy football follow-up: Messi, the established Argentina great, against Yamal, the teenage Spanish winger whose first link to Messi came before he could possibly know it.
Photographer says interest has taken off
Joan Monfort, the photographer who took the 2007 pictures, told The Associated Press that attention around the image has grown sharply as the final approaches.
Monfort said the photo has spread worldwide and that the final being held in the United States has added more attention. He told the AP that the matchup between Messi and Yamal was “better than any film script.”
Spain midfielder Mikel Merino said Friday that he first thought the picture might have been created by artificial intelligence when he saw it.
Merino said it was remarkable that two players of that level could share such an image, adding that he hopes Yamal will one day be regarded among the game’s best. He also said he hoped the final would show both Messi and Yamal at their best for supporters.
Messi chases another crown
Messi enters the final with eight goals and four assists at the 2026 World Cup, according to the report. He is tied with Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race.
The Spain match is set to be Messi’s third World Cup final, after Argentina reached the same stage in 2014 and 2022. Argentina are trying to win consecutive World Cups.
Spain and Argentina had been scheduled to meet before the tournament in the Finalissima, with the game planned for March in Qatar. That match was cancelled because of the conflict in the Middle East, according to the report.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.