In 2007, a young Lionel Messi posed with his baby in the dressing room at Barcelona’s Camp Nou for a charity calendar photo.
At 20 years old, Messi has already made a name for himself and will go on to become arguably the greatest player of all time.
But the photographer never imagined that less than 17 years later, the baby would also make waves in the international football world.
Messi is bathing 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who is taking the European Championship by storm.
He scored in Tuesday’s semi-final against France This is a question that will be talked about for decades.
This goal at the age of 16 years and 362 days also made him the youngest scorer in the history of the competition.
Last week, Yamal’s father posted this long-forgotten photo of Messi and Yamal on Instagram with the caption: “The beginning of two legends.”
The photos were taken by Associated Press freelance photographer Joan Monfort.
He said the shooting was carried out after UNICEF held a raffle in the town of Mataro, where Lamin’s family lives.
“They signed up for a lottery and took a photo with a Barcelona player at the Camp Nou. They won the lottery,” Mr. Monfort told The Associated Press.
The photographer said the task was not simple.
“Messi is a very introverted person, he is very shy,” he said.
“He was coming out of the locker room and suddenly found himself in another locker room with a plastic bucket full of water and a baby in it. It was complicated. He didn’t even know how to hold him at first.
Like Messi, Yamal went on to play for Barcelona, becoming the club’s youngest-ever starter and goalscorer and the youngest goalscorer in the Spanish league.
Monfort said he didn’t realize the baby was Yamal until the photo started going viral last week.
“It’s very exciting to be associated with something that’s causing such a stir,” he said.
“Honestly, it feels really good.”
