How Lionel Messi met baby Lamine Yamal in a 2007 photo shoot
In December 2007, a 20-year-old Lionel Messi was photographed bathing a months-old Lamine Yamal at Barcelona's Camp Nou for a UNICEF charity calendar. The images resurfaced years later when Yamal's father posted them online, revealing that Spain's teenage star once shared a dressing-room shoot with the club legend he is now often compared to. For fans searching lamine yamal, the story is less fairy tale than coincidence — but it still feels like football history folding in on itself.
Key Takeaways
- Messi and baby Yamal met during a December 2007 charity calendar shoot at Camp Nou, organized by Diario Sport and UNICEF.
- Yamal's family won a neighborhood raffle in Mataró; Messi was randomly paired with the infant and his mother, Sheila Ebana.
- Photographer Joan Monfort captured Messi bathing and cradling Yamal; the shy star initially struggled to hold the baby.
- Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraoui, reposted a photo on Instagram with the caption "The beginning of two legends," sending the images viral.
- Today Yamal stars for Barcelona and Spain while Messi has left the club — making the long-forgotten shoot feel prophetic to fans.
How Did Lionel Messi End Up With Baby Lamine Yamal?
The meeting was never planned as a meeting of legends. According to The New York Times, photographer Joan Monfort took the pictures in December 2007 in the visitors' locker room at Camp Nou. Messi was 20 and still early in his Barcelona career. Yamal was just a few months old.
The session was part of an annual charity drive. Catalan newspaper Diario Sport worked with UNICEF to produce a calendar featuring Barça players posing with local children and their families. UNICEF ran a raffle in the Roca Fonda neighborhood of Mataró, where Yamal's family lived. They entered, won, and were invited to the stadium.
Messi was paired with Yamal by chance. In one frame, Messi bathes the baby in a plastic tub. In others, he cradles a towel-wrapped Yamal while Yamal's mother, Sheila Ebana — who is from Equatorial Guinea — appears beside them.
Why Did the Messi and Yamal Baby Photos Go Viral?
The images sat largely out of public view for years. Monfort told The Athletic he always gave families copies of their photos. The pictures only exploded online after Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraoui, shared one on Instagram with the caption "The beginning of two legends."
As reported by The Daily Star, media outlets quickly reposted the photo, and fans were stunned to learn that Barcelona's greatest-ever player and the club's youngest-ever La Liga scorer had crossed paths more than 16 years earlier. Yamal was breaking records for Spain at the European Championship while Messi remained the sport's defining figure with Argentina.
Monfort was surprised when a former colleague contacted him after the post spread. "He asked me, 'Was this my photo?'" Monfort recalled. "I said 'yes'. He sent me the photo and I asked him, 'Who is the baby?' and he started to laugh, and said 'Lamine, Lamine'."
What Made the Photo Shoot So Awkward for Messi?
Behind the now-iconic frames was an uneasy few minutes in a locker room. Monfort described Messi as introverted and shy. The Argentine had just come from one dressing room and suddenly found himself in another with a tub of water and a baby inside it.
"It was complicated. He didn't even know how to hold him at first," Monfort said. What was meant as a simple charity portrait became one of football's most shared images.
Why Does the 2007 Meeting Still Matter for Lamine Yamal?
For Yamal, the photo is part of a larger origin story. The Daily Star notes he grew up in Barcelona's orbit, became the club's youngest La Liga scorer, and now anchors a Spain side built around his talent. Messi, meanwhile, left Barcelona after winning every major trophy with the club.
Fans have treated the image as a symbolic passing of the torch at Camp Nou. The story endures because it links charity, coincidence, and two eras of Barcelona greatness in a single frame. For more stories at the intersection of sport and fame, browse our Celebrity Breaking News coverage.