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A 2007 photo of 19-year-old Spanish footballer Lamine Yamal and Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has gone viral, revealing a surprising childhood moment between the Spanish star and the Argentine legend years before they became global icons.
The photo shows a young Messi holding baby Yamal during a charity calendar shoot at Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium in 2007.
At the time, Messi was only 20 years old and beginning to establish himself as one of Barcelona’s brightest talents, while Yamal was just a few months old.
The forgotten picture resurfaced after Yamal’s father shared it on Instagram last week with the caption, “the beginning of two legends.”
The photo was taken by sports photographer Joan Monfort, who was responsible for a charity project involving Barcelona players, children and their families.
Monfort said the shoot happened in the visitors’ locker room at Camp Nou as part of an annual charity campaign by local newspaper Diario Sport and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The photographer said Messi was randomly paired with Yamal’s family during the session, creating what he described as an incredible coincidence.
“The stars aligned,” Monfort said.
Yamal’s mother, who is from Equatorial Guinea, was also featured in the photo alongside Messi and the young footballer.
Years later, both players have become major figures in world football. Messi went on to become one of the greatest players in history, winning multiple trophies with Barcelona and Argentina.
Yamal, who came through Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, has followed a similar path.
He became Spain’s youngest player and has impressed fans with his performances at the highest level.
The teenager has played a key role in Spain’s World Cup journey and is set to face Messi again when Spain and Argentina meet on football’s biggest stage.
Monfort, who has worked as a sports photographer since 1991, said he had never seen one of his pictures generate such excitement.
He described the viral moment as a rare football coincidence that connected two generations of football greatness.
