From baby photo to historic hug: what Yamal told Messi | OneFootball

A photograph that seemed like pure coincidence ended up becoming one of the most astonishing images in football history. Leo Messi, still in the early years of his career, bathing a baby who decades later would become one of Barcelona’s biggest stars: Lamine Yamal.

The image, captured by Joan Montfort for SPORT in 2007, stayed out of the spotlight for years. As time passed, and especially after the World Cup, it took on a completely different meaning: Messi and Lamine ended up meeting as rivals on football’s biggest stage.

But there was a reason why Lamine wanted to keep that photograph in the background.

“I wanted to be Lamine; I didn’t want to be Messi”

When his father reposted the photograph years later, Lamine had already begun building his own story at Barcelona. Before that, the young footballer had asked for the image not to appear again.

“I told my father not to upload it. He posted it on Facebook once and I told him to delete it. The comparisons were too easy; that was all people talked about.”

The reason was clear. Lamine did not want his career to be shaped by comparisons with Messi.

“I wanted to be Lamine; I didn’t want to be Messi. I just wanted to go as far as I could. I asked him to wait. Once I am Lamine, he can do whatever he wants.”

When the photograph finally became public again, the La Masia graduate had already gone from being a prospect to becoming one of the biggest stars in world football.

Messi and Lamine met again, but on a different stage

Years after that scene in Barcelona, the two shared another historic image. This time there was no baby in anyone’s arms, nor an improvised photo shoot.

Messi was leading Argentina and Lamine was leading Spain in a World Cup final. Two generations face to face, and two of the main stars of their respective national teams sharing the biggest stage possible.

After the match, Lamine went over to Messi, and the two shared a hug that quickly became another photograph for the history books.

The Barcelona player himself explained what he said to the Argentine at that moment:

“I thanked him for everything he has given to football. I don’t do things to look good in a photo; it came from the heart.”

Lamine wants to write his own story with the Ballon d’Or

After winning the World Cup, Lamine’s next major individual goal is the Ballon d’Or. The forward believes his performances had already justified being in the conversation for quite some time.

“To be completely honest, it’s not just this year that I’ve been at Ballon d’Or level, but for longer.”

Lamine knows that comparisons with Messi will be practically unavoidable throughout his career. However, his message has been the same since he began to emerge as a star: he wants his name to carry its own weight.

“Everyone knows it; they know I’m different. I think people think: ‘Lamine is 19 years old, he’ll win it at some point, so let’s say someone else will win it…’. I just have to win, win and win, and there will come a point when there is no debate.”

From that photograph in which he was barely a baby to a hug with Messi after a World Cup final, Lamine Yamal has already started building a story that belongs exclusively to him.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.