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22 hours ago
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No two players have better showcased the age range of soccer stars at the 2026 World Cup than Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal.
For Argentina's superstar, the tournament has been further proof of his all-time greatness, contending for the Golden Boot while putting on a show and leading his team on another deep run as the defending champion. For Spain's 19-year-old, however, the World Cup has been an opportunity for his stardom to reach a global audience for the first time.
With Argentina and Spain both reaching the 2026 World Cup semifinals, a mind-blowing crossover between Messi and Yamal has resurfaced online: baby photos. Long ago, Messi was photographed holding the future soccer star.
Here's what to know about the viral baby photos of Lamine Yamal with a younger Lionel Messi.
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Lionel Messi-Lamine Yamal baby photo
As Yamal and Messi have moved through the World Cup bracket, with the potential for a Spain vs. Argentina final matchup, the photos of the two soccer stars nearly 20 years ago have resurfaced on social media.
In the photos, Messi gave the future Spain star a bubble bath in a plastic bathtub.
So this could turn out to be a World Cup final. pic.twitter.com/McZ88kMrIJ
— Laia Cervelló Herrero (@Laia_Cervello) July 14, 2026A 20-year-old Messi holding a baby Lamine Yamal during a 2007 charity photoshoot is an unbelievable twist of fate pic.twitter.com/5D4A4nM4ts
— culture jpeg (@culturejpg) June 25, 2026MORE: What Lionel Messi has said about retirement plans
When was Lionel Messi-Lamine Yamal baby photo taken?
The photoshoot with Messi and Yamal was taken in 2007, 19 years prior to Spain and Argentina contending for the 2026 World Cup trophy.
Yamal was just a six-month-old baby in the photos.
MORE: Inside Lionel Messi's goals since turning 30 years old
Why did Lionel Messi bathe Lamine Yamal?
Messi took the photos in fall 2007 with a young Yamal as part of a charity calendar for his then-club FC Barcelona.
In 2024, Joan Monfort the photographer who took the photos freelancing for the Associated Press, told the outlet that the photoshoot was part of a charity drive hosted by humanitarian aid organization UNICEF and local Barcelona sports outlet Diario Sport. There was a raffle held, with families entering for a chance to have their picture taken at the FC Barcelona stadium with a player.
As it turned out, Yamal's family won the raffle, with his mother, Sheila Ebana, also appearing in the photos. Messi, however, wasn't initially sure "how to interact with baby Lamine," Monfort told the AP.
“Messi is a pretty introverted guy, he’s shy,” Monfort told the AP. “He was coming out of the locker room and suddenly he finds himself in another locker room with a plastic tub full of water and a baby in it. It was complicated. He didn’t even know how to hold him at first.”
In 2024, with Yamal shining at Euro 2024 and becoming the youngest goal scorer in Euros history, the photoshoot began to resurface once again, with confirmation that it was, in fact, a real crossover between two soccer stars.
MORE: Meet Lamine Yamal's full family
How old was Lionel Messi in Lamine Yamal baby photo?
Messi was just 20 years old at the time, with only one World Cup appearance under his belt. While he was recognized as a budding star talent, he had a lot to prove.
Now, 19 years later, Messi is considered a cemented all-time great, while Yamal is the young, talented star with a lot to prove.
🚨🚨🎙️| LAMINE YAMAL, reacting to his iconic baby photo with Messi in a bathtub: "I hope to 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥" 🌟🤩pic.twitter.com/c1bseFGVdZ
— Goals Side (@goalsside) July 14, 2026
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