NEW YORK, July 18 — Argentina star Lionel Messi has said it is “crazy” that he and Spain’s Lamine Yamal will both feature in the World Cup final, almost 19 years after the two crossed paths for the first time in a now iconic photo shoot.
“I did a photo with him then when he was a baby and now we are playing against each other in a World Cup final,” Messi said at a media event in New York ahead of Sunday’s final in New Jersey, reported German news agency dpa.
Back in December 2007, a then 20-year-old Messi was among Barcelona first team players taking part in a shoot for a charity calendar organized by the club and their shirt sponsors, children’s relief organization UNICEF.
It was sheer coincidence that Messi was chosen to cradle and bathe a then five-months-old Yamal in a platic tub. Yamal’s parents had participated via a sports paper raffle.
The photos were first shared with the public by Yamal’s father in 2024 when the then 17-year-old had his breakthrough at the Euros.
Like Messi, Yamal rose through the famous Barça academy into the first team and international fame. Messi said he wishes Yamal all the best and said he was already “among the best players in the world.”
