A photograph from 2007 shows Lionel Messi, then 20, cradling a five-month-old baby in the away dressing room at Barcelona's Camp Nou. That baby is Lamine Yamal, now 19, and the two will face each other for the first time on Sunday when Argentina play Spain in the World Cup final.
The image, taken by photographer Joan Monfort, resurfaced two years ago when Yamal's father posted it online with the caption "The beginning of two legends". It documents a raffle organised by Catalan newspaper Sport and Unicef, which Yamal's family won. The family, described by Monfort as "a very poor family", was paired with Messi by chance.
“Messi and Yamal, linked by a 2007 photoshoot, face off in Sunday's World Cup final.”
"It is a true miracle of destiny," Monfort told BBC Sport. "It is serendipity - when you find something extra special, so much bigger than you ever thought. If you wrote this in a film it would not seem possible."
Monfort recalled the shoot: "Messi is a really introverted guy, very timid and shy. He came into the dressing room and suddenly had to take these photos with a little baby - not even a kid, a proper baby - and his face changed like he had no idea what to do!"
Yamal, who helped Spain win Euro 2024, has since emerged as one of football's most electrifying talents. Messi, now 39, remains the sport's standard-bearer. On Sunday, a photograph taken nearly two decades ago will become a footnote to a World Cup final between two generations of genius, bound by a moment of chance in an empty dressing room.
