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NEW YORK — Lionel Messi said it's "crazy" he first met Lamine Yamal when Yamal was an infant and now, almost 19 years later, is facing him in a World Cup final.
Photos of Messi holding Yamal and giving him a bath during a charity photoshoot have been making the rounds since Argentina and Spain advanced to the final on Sunday, July 19.
"I did the photo when he was a baby and to face him in the World Cup, it’s crazy," Messi said Friday, July 17, during an appearance at Fanatics Fest with Argentina teammate Emi "Dibu" Martinez and coach Lionel Scaloni and Spain's captain Rodri and coach Luis de la Fuente.
"But he’s without a doubt one of the best of the world right now."
In 2007, when Messi was at Barcelona, the club raffled off the opportunity for local families to have a photoshoot with players from the team. The photos were going to be part of a calendar that would raise funds for UNICEF, the humanitarian organization that once graced the front of Barcelona's jerseys.
Yamal's family was one of those chosen and baby Lamine, five months old at the time, was paired with Messi, then 20. There are photos of him holding the infant Yamal in his arms and helping Yamal's mother give him a bath.
The photos first surfaced two years ago, when Yamal's father posted one of them on Instagram during the European championships. Yamal had become the youngest scorer in Euros history and also had four assists as Spain won the title.
But Messi had been keeping an eye on his old photoshoot partner before that.
Yamal came through Barcelona's youth academy and made his debut for the senior team in 2023, when he was 15. Messi spent the first 17 years of his professional career at Barca, and still follows his old team.
"He’s one of the top players," Messi said of Yamal. "He has his whole career in front of him and has the chance to make history, but we’ll give our best for it not to be this time."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Messi says it's 'crazy' he met, bathed baby Lamine Yamal
Continue reading...
Photos of Messi holding Yamal and giving him a bath during a charity photoshoot have been making the rounds since Argentina and Spain advanced to the final on Sunday, July 19.
"I did the photo when he was a baby and to face him in the World Cup, it’s crazy," Messi said Friday, July 17, during an appearance at Fanatics Fest with Argentina teammate Emi "Dibu" Martinez and coach Lionel Scaloni and Spain's captain Rodri and coach Luis de la Fuente.
"But he’s without a doubt one of the best of the world right now."
In 2007, when Messi was at Barcelona, the club raffled off the opportunity for local families to have a photoshoot with players from the team. The photos were going to be part of a calendar that would raise funds for UNICEF, the humanitarian organization that once graced the front of Barcelona's jerseys.
Yamal's family was one of those chosen and baby Lamine, five months old at the time, was paired with Messi, then 20. There are photos of him holding the infant Yamal in his arms and helping Yamal's mother give him a bath.
The photos first surfaced two years ago, when Yamal's father posted one of them on Instagram during the European championships. Yamal had become the youngest scorer in Euros history and also had four assists as Spain won the title.
But Messi had been keeping an eye on his old photoshoot partner before that.
Yamal came through Barcelona's youth academy and made his debut for the senior team in 2023, when he was 15. Messi spent the first 17 years of his professional career at Barca, and still follows his old team.
"He’s one of the top players," Messi said of Yamal. "He has his whole career in front of him and has the chance to make history, but we’ll give our best for it not to be this time."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Messi says it's 'crazy' he met, bathed baby Lamine Yamal
Continue reading...
