On the eve of the final of the FIFA World Cup (2026 World Cup), in which the national teams of Argentina and Spain will play, a photograph of Lionel Messi bathing Lamin Yamal has spread across social networks and the world media. RTVI figured out how the picture came about in which Internet users saw the prophecy.
The photo of a young, long-haired Messi bathing a baby in a blue bathtub is not a fake. The child in the photo is indeed Lamin Yamal, who became a Spanish football star about 20 years after the photo was taken.
🚨TRENDING: In 2007, Leo Messi held a baby for a photo shoot. That baby was Lamine Yamal!
19 years later, they are set to face each other in the 2026 World Cup final! pic.twitter.com/6HtFI0PTWB
— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) July 15, 2026
As the FIFA website notes, it is not without reason that the scene resembles a baptism. At the time of the photo shoot, Messi was 20 years old – almost the same age as Yamal now. The Argentine then already had the Spanish championship title with Barcelona, with which the Spaniard would win it in 2026. Yamal also plays in the team under the same number 10 that made Messi famous, and both started under number 19.
“This is not a coincidence, it was a real miracle,” says photographer Joan Monfort, who took the photo for the calendar that Barcelona created together with the UN child protection organization UNICEF.
Monfort said that in 2006 the players were photographed with children they knew to save time, but in 2007 the team decided that the pictures should reflect the diversity of Catalonia's communities.
Four-month-old Yamal, who lived in the city of Mataro, first won the UNICEF lottery to get to the Camp Nou stadium, and then, by chance, he ended up partnering with Messi on the set.
According to Monfort, the Argentine in those years was “even more modest” than now, and tensed up when he recognized the photographer’s idea. A rubber duck helped calm the nerves of not so much the baby as the football player. Yamal's mother Sheila was present during the shooting, helping Messi with bathing the child.
“This photo with Lamin is absolutely insane. How life works – I took a photo with him when he was a baby, and now we're going to play at the World Cup. He is undoubtedly one of the best in the world now [футболистов]and I wish him good luck, because his successes are the successes of Barcelona,” Messi said, commenting for the first time on the photo at the event on Friday, July 17.
Messi comments on Lamine Yamal and the photo they took together when Lamine was a baby with @TomBrady
(via @Fanatics) pic.twitter.com/hjbYDcYWpx
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 18, 2026
Yamal joked about the photo before the semi-final match with France and then expressed hope that he would meet Messi in the final.
“I've grown up a little, and so has Leo, I think. I hope this happens. I will be happy to play with Messi in the World Cup final,” Yamal told DAZN Spain.
🗣️ Reporter: Could this photo become a World Cup final?
Lamine Yamal: “Yes, I've grown a little, and I think Leo has too. I hope it happens. I'd love to face Messi in a World Cup final.” 🐐🇪🇸🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/Ae3MgYkiBq
— MC (@CrewsMat10) July 14, 2026
The Spaniard, by the way, now has a chance to pass the baton, probably to a football star of the 2040s. The Barcelona club still cooperates with UNICEF, and Yamal recently became a goodwill ambassador for the organization. All that remains is to start publishing calendars again – the last one came out in 2008 with Yamal and Messi on the January page.
Yes, those photos you've seen are real.
More than 18 years ago, a baby named Lamine Yamal and his mom Sheila met Lionel Messi at a UNICEF fundraising photoshoot.
Today, their achievements on the pitch inspire millions. Off the pitch, both Messi and Lamine Yamal use their voices… pic.twitter.com/TSoUPDxia2
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) July 16, 2026
The match between Spain and Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final will be held at the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, July 19. Start time is 3:00 am Eastern Time (ET).
