Stranger than fiction: Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal set for World Cup final 19 years after first meeting
Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal (Image credit: Joan Monfort) Some stories are too incredible to write. However, football created one. Nineteen years after Lionel Messi first met Lamino Yamal during a charity photo shoot in Barcelona, the two will be on opposite sides of the World Cup final. Argentina and Spain will battle it out for soccer’s biggest prize at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, turning an unforgettable photo into one of the sport’s greatest all-round moments. Already in 2007, Messi was the star of Barcelona. Yamal was just a child. During a charity photoshoot for the calendar organized by Sport and UNICEF, photographer Joan Monfort captured Messi bathing infant Yamal in a plastic tub. At the time, it was just another task.No one could have imagined that the baby in Messi’s arms would grow up to be the biggest Spanish football star.The journey since then has been remarkable. Messi became one of the greatest players in football history before leaving Barcelona in 2021 after the club’s financial difficulties forced his departure. Just two years later, Yamal burst onto the scene at the same club and became Barcelona’s next global superstar.Now the story has come full circle. Nineteen-year-old Yamal will face Messi, who is 20 years older, in the biggest football match.
A coincidence that feels like fate
The famous photos were largely forgotten until Yamal’s father shared one on social media during Euro 2024, when the teenager led Spain to the title. The image quickly went viral and has once again become one of the most talked about images in football ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final.Photographer Joan Monfort admitted that he, too, is trying to explain how it all unfolded.“I’ve never been a believer or thought anything should happen, but I’m starting to have doubts. This is beyond any reasonable explanation,” Monfort told the Associated Press on Friday from his home in Barcelona.Monfort took the photos in 2007 as part of a charity calendar. Yamala’s mother won a raffle for families from Mataró, near Barcelona, to attend, and by chance her child was paired with Messi.
“Better than any movie script”
As Messi and Yamal now prepare to meet in the World Cup final, interest in the iconic images has exploded once again.“This has exploded around the world and the fact that the final is in the US has given it an extra boost,” Monfort said. “And now it culminated in the final between Messi and Yamal. It’s better than any movie script.”The Barcelona-based photographer said the images were requested by media organizations around the world, while they were also widely shared on social media without attribution.
A tough choice for a Barcelona fan
Sunday’s final is emotional for Monfort. Like many Barcelona fans, he feels connected to both players.“My heart is divided. I don’t know if I want Messi or Yamal to win,” said Monfort, a lifelong Barcelona fan.He explained why both 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, diverse Spain, thanks to his parents from Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. “Maybe they can both win. After everything we’ve seen, I wouldn’t rule it out.”From a charity photo shoot in Barcelona to world football’s biggest stage, Messi and Yamal’s journey is the kind of story that feels stranger than fiction. He will have one final chapter on Sunday at New York’s New Jersey Stadium.