The images were taken as part of a photoshoot in the visitors' locker room at Barcelona's Camp Nou in the autumn of 2007 when a 'shy' Messi posed with Yamal and his mother for a charity calendar.
Photographs showing one of football's greatest-ever players holding the prodigy who could now challenge his achievements have been widely shared on social media. The 17-year-old snaps show Argentina's Lionel Messi holding a baby - which has turned out to be none other than Lamine Yamal, the 16-year-old Spanish right-winger. Having already become the youngest to have played for Spain, Yamal became the youngest player ever at a European Championship at Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.
Photographer Joan Monfort, who was in charge of the shoot, said Barcelona's players at the time posed with children and their families for a calendar as part of an annual charity drive by local newspaper Diario Sport and UNICEF. It just so happened that Yamal was paired with a then 20-year-old Messi. 'UNICEF did a raffle in the neighbourhood of Roca Fonda in Mataro where Lamine's family lived.
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