A black‑and‑white image taken in 2007 shows a teenage Lionel Messi gently cradling a baby Lamine Yamal, a moment that has resurfaced during the 2024 European Championship and now looms over the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.
A photograph that transcends time
Joan Monfort, a freelance photojournalist who has worked for the Associated Press, captured the scene while on assignment for a charity calendar produced in partnership with UNICEF.
The shoot was arranged after Yamal’s mother entered a raffle, giving the youngster the chance to be photographed alongside the then‑rising star of Barcelona’s youth academy.
Monfort, a lifelong Barcelona supporter, recalls the day as a simple exchange of kindness, unaware that the two boys would later diverge onto vastly different career paths.
In 2021 Messi departed the club amid the club’s financial crisis, while Yamal, two years later, broke through the first team and began to attract global attention.
Now, as Argentina prepares to face Spain in the World Cup final, the photograph is being invoked as a symbolic bridge between a legend and a new generation of talent.
Monfort admits that his personal allegiance is split, torn between the enduring charisma of Messi and the fresh dynamism of Yamal, and he is even contemplating a trip to New Jersey to watch the final live.
The image, beyond its sports narrative, also reflects the broader story of a Spain that embraces diversity, embodied by Yamal’s mixed heritage from Morocco and Equatorial Guinea.