Messi was photographed bathing a young Lamine Yamal, in a photo that was first posted by the teenager’s father, Mounir Nasraoui.
PUNCH
Old photos of a young Lionel Messi with an infant Lamine Yamal have resurfaced and gone viral, just as Yamal’s outstanding performance at the 2024 European Championship captured widespread attention.
Messi was photographed bathing a young Yamal, in a photo that was first posted by the teenager’s father, Mounir Nasraoui.
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Football fans have jokingly suggested that the skills and abilities of the eight Ballon d’Or awards and World Cup winner were somehow transferred to Yamal during the bath.
Yamal etched his name in the record books by becoming the youngest player to score in the European Championship, aged just 16 years and 362 days, with his historic goal coming in the semi-final clash against France in Munich on Tuesday.
This was after he became the youngest player ever in the ongoing Euro 2024 in Germany and has been praised as one of the best players on Spain’s national team during the tournament.
According to the BBC, the photos were captured by Joan Monfort, a freelance photographer who contributes to the Associated Press.
In December 2007, Monfort snapped the photo of a 20-year-old Lionel Messi, already four years into his illustrious Barcelona career, cradling a tiny Yamal, who was just six months old at the time.
“It was a difficult photo to take. We can say I sweated some blood to take it.
“Messi is still shy now; he was much more shy when he was starting out and he finds himself there with a tiny baby in a plastic bath full of water. And with his mother. At the start, there was not much interaction. It was difficult for all of them. But, bit by bit, it started to happen and in the end, it’s a pretty good photo,” Monfort told The Athletic.
The photo was featured in a 2008 charity calendar, a collaborative project between Barcelona’s foundation and Diario Sport, with proceeds benefiting various charitable organisations, including UNICEF and local NGOs in Catalonia, supporting vulnerable communities and children.
The charity calendar featured photos of Barcelona players alongside children.
