Read 3 minutesUpdated: 18 July 2026 09:24 AM IST
The cinematic sub-plot in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final featuring Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal is too good to be true, even for the Argentine superstar.
In 2024, for the first time since a photo of them together nearly two decades ago went viral, Messi spoke about meeting a young Yamal in late 2007 when he showered for a promotional charity photo shoot. In that fleeting moment, neither knew that the world would one day look back on this image and see the beginning of something extraordinary.
Lionel Messi, 20, with a shy smile and a head of luscious curls, held six-month-old Yamal in a blue plastic bathtub for a photo taken by freelancer Joan Monfort.
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“After taking that photo with Lamine, when he was a kid, now we’re facing the finals,” Messi told seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady in an interview Friday. “It’s just crazy.”
“But he’s one of the best players in the world right now,” Messi said of the 19-year-old who donned his iconic No.10 shirt at FC Barcelona.
“Laminé is a fantastic player, who I follow closely because he plays for my favorite club and always wish him the best. He is only 19 years old and a world icon, his whole career is ahead of him. He has a great chance to achieve something historic, and we will do everything to make sure that it doesn’t happen this time. I wish him the best, because he said honestly, “I have that photo.
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“I wish him the best because what’s good for him is good for Barcelona, and we’ll try to play well so he doesn’t have his best, even if it’s difficult, we’ll try. He has, like Spain, some great players and a great style of play. We also have our own strengths,” he said.
Yamal won the number 10 jersey at Barcelona where he scored 18 goals and provided 25 assists as they won the domestic treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup and reached the Champions League semi-finals last year. Like the teenage Messi, Yamal has already committed his long-term future with the Spanish giants, signing a contract extension that will keep him at Barcelona until 2031.