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Sport
Messi and Yamal in World Cup final: a photo brought them together 19 years earlier
Herz — Sport Desk · · 30s summary · 4 min read
The essentials
On July 19, 2026, Argentina faces Spain in the World Cup final: for the first time on a pitch, Lionel Messi (39 years old) and Lamine Yamal (19 years old) will be opponents. Yet the two players had already crossed paths. In 2007, Messi (20 years old) posed with infant Yamal (5 months old) during a photo session organized at Camp Nou by the Catalan newspaper Sport and UNICEF. The photo remained unknown for 17 years before resurfacing in 2024. At 19 years old, Yamal has 56 goals and five major titles, compared to 11 goals and two for Messi at the same age.
- The July 19, 2026 final marks the first pitch confrontation between Messi (39) and Yamal (19).
- In 2007, Messi (20) posed with baby Yamal (5 months) at Camp Nou for a Sport-UNICEF charity operation.
- Yamal's father shared the photo on Instagram in 2024 after Euro, revealing the story to the public.
- At 19 years old, Yamal totals 56 goals and 5 titles; Messi had only 11 goals and 2 at the same age.
- 'Yamal' is the player's second name, born Lamine Yamal Naraoui Ebana, raised in Mataró near Barcelona.
What we know
On July 19, 2026, Argentina faces Spain in the World Cup final. This match will be the first pitch confrontation between Lionel Messi (39 years old) and Lamine Yamal (19 years old), according to the BBC and Yahoo Sports.
The two players had already crossed paths. In 2007, the Catalan newspaper Sport, in partnership with UNICEF — then Barcelona FC's kit sponsor — organized an operation allowing randomly selected families to have their infant photographed with a club player. Yamal's family, then aged 5 months, was randomly paired with Messi, 20 years old, on the day of the shoot.
The photo remained in obscurity for 17 years. In 2024, after Spain's Euro victory, Yamal's father posted one of the photos on Instagram with the caption 'The beginning of two legends'. Photographer Joan Monfort, 58 years old, only learned the infant's identity at that moment, alerted by a friend.
Messi was 'introverted, shy and reserved', unsettled by the infant, but quickly adapted. Yamal was 'a very happy and smiling baby'.
— Joan Monfort, photographer, to the BBC and Yahoo Sports
The 2007 photo session at Camp Nou
The session took place in Camp Nou's away dressing room, shot by Joan Monfort. In 2007, Messi wore number 19 for Barcelona — he would only inherit number 10 in 2008, after Ronaldinho's departure. At that time, he was 20 years old; Yamal was 5 months old.
Monfort — a 58-year-old Catalan and Barça supporter — had no idea of the infant's identity in his pictures. It was in 2024, thanks to a friend, that he learned he had immortalized Yamal as a child.
Timeline
- 2007Photo shoot at Camp Nou: Messi (20 years old, number 19) is photographed with baby Yamal (5 months) by Joan Monfort in the away dressing room, as part of a Sport-UNICEF charity operation.
- 2008Messi inherits the number 10 at Barcelona after Ronaldinho's departure.
- Summer 2024Spain wins Euro 2024. Yamal's father posts the photo on Instagram ('The beginning of two legends'). Joan Monfort learns the infant's identity.
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