In the days following Spain’s victory at Euro 2024, a photograph from 2007 began circulating widely on social media. It shows a 20-year-old Lionel Messi, then already a rising star at FC Barcelona, holding a baby in a plastic bathtub. The baby is Lamine Yamal, who 17 years later would become Spain’s youngest ever player and the tournament’s Best Young Player.
The image was taken by Joan Monfort, a Barcelona-based freelance photographer working for the Associated Press, during a UNICEF charity photoshoot at the Camp Nou. Yamal’s family had won a raffle in the neighbourhood of Roca Fonda in Mataró, a town north of Barcelona, to have their picture taken with a Barça player. “They signed up for the raffle to have their picture taken at the Camp Nou with a Barca player. And they won the raffle,” Monfort told The Athletic.
Monfort described the shoot as challenging. “He [Messi] didn't even know how to hold him at first,” he recalled. “Messi is a pretty introverted guy, he's shy. He was coming out of the locker room and suddenly he finds himself in another locker room with a plastic tub full of water and a baby in it. It was complicated.”
A Viral Rediscovery
The photo resurfaced after Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, posted it on Instagram with the caption: “The beginning of two legends.” It quickly gained traction, especially after Yamal’s standout performances at Euro 2024 in Germany, where he became the youngest male player to score in the tournament’s history at 16 years and 362 days. His goal helped Spain defeat France 2-1 in the semi-final, setting up their final victory over England in Berlin.
Monfort said he only realised the baby was Yamal when the photo went viral. “It’s very exciting to be associated with something that has caused such a sensation,” he said. “We take so many photos, so many images. Some of them will remain.” He added that the story is a welcome contrast to the money-driven side of modern football: “For Lamine to grow up to be a footballer, and to have this photo, I’m just really happy it happened. It’s especially nice in today’s football, when so much is to do with money and power.”
Yamal, who turned 17 three days before the Euro 2024 final, followed a path similar to Messi’s. Both came through Barcelona’s La Masia academy. Yamal made his first-team debut in April 2023, becoming the club’s youngest ever starter and goalscorer, as well as the youngest scorer in La Liga. Messi, who made his international debut at 18, won the Champions League four times with Barça and remains the club’s record goalscorer with 672 goals.
The photo’s resurgence also highlights the role of chance in football history. As Monfort noted, the shoot was a routine assignment for UNICEF, and neither he nor Messi could have predicted the baby’s future. The image now serves as a visual link between two generations of Barcelona prodigies, and a reminder of the sport’s capacity for unexpected connections.
For more on how viral moments shape public narratives, see our piece on IKEA's Dorothée Gardon on AI, Viral Moments, and Brand Control in the Social Media Age. And for a broader reflection on European identity, read Europe Needs a Shared Story, Not a Single Memory.
