Twenty years ago, a 20-year-old Lionel Messi cradled a five-month-old baby in a charity photoshoot for a Barcelona calendar. On Sunday, the two will face each other in a World Cup final – a twist the Argentina captain calls “crazy”.
Speaking alongside NFL legend Tom Brady at a news conference in New York, the 39-year-old Messi described the 2007 image, taken for a UNICEF calendar organised by local newspaper Diario Sport, as “incredible”. Brady called the photos “very prophetic”.
“Messi faces baby Yamal in World Cup final after prophetic 2007 photo surfaces.”
“The fact that we’re both playing in the World Cup now is crazy,” Messi said, adding that Lamine Yamal, now 19 and wearing the Barcelona number 10 shirt Messi made famous, is “one of the best in the world right now”. The Spain forward helped win Euro 2024 and could become the youngest player to win both that tournament and the World Cup.
“I wish him luck because his success will be Barcelona’s success,” Messi said. “But we’ll give it our all to ensure he doesn’t become champion this time.”
The reunion of the two stars is not the only subplot. Off the pitch, British expats in Spain are throwing their support behind La Roja after England’s semi-final defeat to Argentina. Louise Letchford, a head teacher who has lived near Benidorm for 23 years, told The i Paper: “I will be very proud to support Spain.” Louise Wilson, a 31-year resident of Malaga, called Argentina’s style “rough”. Nick Dalby, a marketing director in Barcelona, said his daughters “would have preferred Spain to win over England”.
Meanwhile, the rapper Drake placed a $1.5m bet on Argentina to win, sharing a screenshot of the online wager on Stake. The outcome of the final could also influence perceptions of Argentina, which has been labelled “surprise villains” by New York magazine and the subject of a New York Times report on how other nations hope they lose – a shift from the plucky underdog image of four years ago.
Away from the pitch, FIFA president Gianni Infantino met with Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York days before the final, an exchange some fans have slammed as “cringe” and “sickening”.
The final itself pits Messi, chasing a second World Cup, against a teenage prodigy he once held in his arms. “To be honest, that photo is just crazy because, well, that’s life, isn’t it?” Messi told Brady. “Here we are today, the two of us going up against each other in a World Cup. It really is crazy.”
