Messi and Lamine Yamal reunite after the final in the US | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup final produced a historic moment starring Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi, two figures linked by their footballing roots at Barcelona. Although neither star managed to shine in the decisive match, the young Spaniard ended up lifting the World Cup after his national team’s victory over an Argentina side shaken by defeat.

Amid the celebrations over Spain’s title, Yamal showed his maturity and respect by stepping away from his teammates to look for La Pulga, who was sitting on the grass processing the pain of the loss. Noticing him approach, the Argentine captain stood up to return the greeting, and the two shared an emotional embrace on the pitch in New York.

This encounter symbolically closed the circle that began almost two decades ago with that iconic charity photo shoot for Unicef, in which a young Messi appeared bathing Yamal when he was just a baby. The years passed and turned that tender memory into a meeting between two of the biggest stars in contemporary football.

The mutual respect between them had already been cemented by earlier statements, as Yamal — despite having Neymar as his stylistic reference — always considered the Rosario-born star the best in history. For his part, Messi had also been full of praise for the Spanish gem before the final, wishing him the greatest success in his career and celebrating that his sporting development directly benefits the Catalan club.

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