Curious picture - Messi bathed Yamal as a baby - the story behind the photo
A soccer star bathing a foreign child - that in itself sounds quite intriguing. But when it turns out that the baby is only a few months older than he himself was on his way to becoming a superstar, the story takes on a whole new twist. This photo is currently making waves on social media. The photo shows Lionel Messi bathing the few months old Lamine Yamal in a tub. Yes, that's right, the very same Yamal, rising star of the Spanish National Team at the European Football Championship.
The photo was originally shared by Mounir Nasraoui, Lamine Yamal's father, on the day of Spain's quarterfinal match against Germany. The title Nasraoui gave the photo: "The beginning of two legends."
But how did the photo come about? The photo was taken in winter 2007 for the Catalan newspaper "Diario Sport," which published a charity calendar. The Barcelona squad posed with several families and children. In particular, Montfort remembers the photo with Messi. "Messi is today a shy type, but back then he was even shyer, as he stood there with a baby in a plastic tub filled with water."
Lamine Yamal as a Baby in the Arms of Lionel Messi
At first, there was little to no interaction, but people gradually approached the photo. "In the end, it turned out to be a pretty good photo," says Montfort. Official photos from the photoshoot are also circulating on the internet now. The fact that he captured the then rising star of world soccer and a potential future star in the same frame still surprises the photographer today. "Back then, no one could have imagined that this baby would become the player he is today – and that Messi would become the player he is in world soccer today." Messi was still at the beginning of his career back then.
Messi, who was still a young star in Barcelona's highly talented squad at the age of 20, was already considered the future world star and had just become a regular starter for the Catalans in 2007. Already at that time, Messi had won two championships and the Champions League with Barcelona, and in 2009, the first of eight awards as World Footballer was to follow.
Yamal breaks all the records in the Spanish League
The fact that Yamal would one day become a promise at the world level was not yet foreseeable at that time. The fact that he was already breaking Messi's records at that age was also not the case. In October 2023, at the age of 16 years and 87 days, he became the youngest goalscorer in the history of La Liga. During the ongoing EM, he became the youngest player and the youngest player to prepare three goals at a European Championship.
Both Messi and Yamal were trained at La Masia, the legendary youth academy of FC Barcelona. They have never played together as professionals. Messi left the Catalans in the summer of 2021 to join Paris and has been winding down his career in Miami since 2023. Yamal made his Barcelona debut in April 2023 at the age of 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days – the youngest player in the history of the league.
In the same year, Lionel Messi also made history in European football, leading FC Barcelona to victory in the Champions League.
Years later, at the European Football Championship, Lamine Yamal broke several records, demonstrating his extraordinary talent and following in Messi's footsteps.
