Lamine Yamal was just five months old when he first met Lionel Messi. In 2008, the Barcelona Foundation and Diario Sport collaborated on a charity calendar for UNICEF. During this project, Joan Monfort captured a photograph of a 20-year-old Messi bathing baby Yamal alongside his mother, Sheila Ebana. The photograph, taken in December 2007, predated Messi’s status as the GOAT and Yamal’s rise as a prominent player at Barcelona.
Now, this photo has gone viral as Messi and Argentina prepare to face Yamal and Spain in the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup final. Scheduled for Sunday, July 19, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, it marks the first time these players will compete against each other.
During Fanatics Fest on Friday, July 17, Tom Brady questioned Messi about the photo. Messi remarked, Lamine is a huge player I followed a lot because he plays in a club that I love, and I wish him always the best. He is one of the leaders worldwide at 19 years of age. He has his whole career ahead of him. He has a great opportunity to make history, which we intend to give our maximum so that it’s not this time.
Messi continued, That photo is crazy because, well, it’s life. I had a photo with him when he was a baby, and for us to be facing each other in a World Cup—like I said before, it’s craziness. But he’s one of the best in the world at the moment, without a doubt, and I wish the best of luck because his well-being will be Barcelona’s well-being as well.
For Messi, this final is his third World Cup appearance. He experienced defeat against Germany in 2014 and triumphed over France in 2022. Meanwhile, Yamal has reached the World Cup final in his debut tournament with Spain.
In this tournament, Messi has achieved significant milestones, scoring eight goals and providing four assists, setting records as the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer (21) and assist leader (12). Although Yamal has scored just one goal, his influence on the field is notable.
Argentina, led by Messi, aims to achieve consecutive World Cup victories, a feat last accomplished by Brazil in 1958 and 1962. For Spain’s La Roja, the goal is to secure their first men’s World Cup title since 2010.