Some stories are too unbelievable to write. However, the ball has produced one. Nineteen years later Lionel Messi He first met Lamine Yamal during a charity photo shoot in Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Argentina and Spain will fight for football’s biggest prize on Sunday at the New York New Jersey Stadium, turning an unforgettable image into one of the sport’s greatest rivalries. Back in 2007, Messi was already the star of Barcelona. Yamal was just a baby. During a photoshoot in a charity calendar organized by the newspaper Sport and UNICEF, photographer Joan Monfort photographed Messi bathing the baby Yamal in a plastic tub. At that time, it was just another job.No one would have thought that the baby in Messi’s arms would grow up to be the biggest star in Spain.Since then, the journey has been amazing. Messi became one of the greatest players in football history before leaving Barcelona in 2021 after financial problems forced him out. Two years later, Yamal appeared at the same club, becoming a Barcelona international.Now, the story has come full circle. 19-year-old Yamal will face Messi, who is 20, in the biggest game in football.
Accidentally that feels like destiny
The famous photos were forgotten until Yamal’s father shared them on social media during Euro 2024, when the teenager led Spain to the title. The image quickly went viral, and ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final, it has become one of the most talked about images in football.Actress Joan Monfort admitted that even she had a hard time explaining how it all happened.“I have never been a believer or think that anything should happen, but I’m starting to have my doubts. This is more than explaining everything that makes sense,” Monfort told The Associated Press from his home in Barcelona on Friday.Monfort took the photos in 2007 as part of a charity calendar. Yamal’s mother won a family competition from Mataró, near Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​front of which, her son was connected to Messi.
‘More than any movie script’
With Messi and Yamal now set to meet in the final of the World Cup, interest in the comics has exploded again.“This has exploded all over the world, and the fact that it’s finally in the US has made it possible,” Monfort said. “And now this has reached its climax with the final between Messi and Yamal. It’s better than any movie.”The Barcelona-based photographer said that media organizations around the world have requested the photos, which were widely shared on social networks without credit.
A difficult choice for a Barcelona fan
For Monfort, Sunday’s final is exciting. Like many Barcelona supporters,​​​​​​ he feels a connection with all these players.“My heart is divided. I don’t know if I want Messi or Yamal to win,” said Monfort, Barcelona’s life supporter.He explained why all those players mean so much to him.“I have eternal love for the best player of all time (Messi),” he said, but “Yamal has broken the mold here” and represents a new, different Spain, thanks to his Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean ancestry. “Maybe they can both win. I can’t deny it after everything we’ve seen.”From a charity photo shoot in Barcelona to the biggest stage in world football, Messi and Yamal’s journey is a story that sounds stranger than fiction. On Sunday, it will have one final title at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
