Home / Sports / From Baby Bath to World Cup Final: Messi Meets Yamal Again
From Baby Bath to World Cup Final: Messi Meets Yamal Again
16 Jul
Summary
- Messi and Yamal met as baby and star in 2007 charity photo.
- Argentina will face Spain in the FIFA World Cup final.
- A childhood photo shows a young Yamal with Lionel Messi.
Argentina has advanced to the FIFA World Cup final, setting up a highly anticipated match against Spain. The final will feature a unique encounter between Argentina's Lionel Messi and Spain's Lamine Yamal, two footballing stars with an unexpected past connection.
Years before their World Cup final showdown, Messi and Yamal crossed paths in 2007. During a charity event organized by Diario Sport and UNICEF, a young Messi posed for photographs with children and their families. Among them was an infant Lamine Yamal, who was chosen via a raffle in his hometown of Mataró. Freelance photographer Joan Monfort captured images of Messi holding a baby Yamal in a bathtub at Camp Nou.
Photographs from this 2007 meeting resurfaced recently, gaining new significance as Yamal has risen to prominence. Yamal, who debuted for Barcelona at 15, has since achieved multiple LaLiga titles and won the UEFA European Championship with Spain. Now, he is set to face his childhood idol, Messi, on the world's biggest football stage in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
