As a baby, Lamine Yamal posed with Lionel Messi in 2007 as part of a charity project with UNICEF.
Catalan photographer Joan Montfort has shared his memories of an incredible coincidence between Barcelona’s past and present: the connection between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal, Ufabet Sport reported on Saturday.
Messi is a Barcelona icon and the best player in the club’s history, while Yamal only broke into the Blaugrana last season at the age of 16 but has the potential to become the next icon to follow in the footsteps of the Argentine legend.
Although the two had never played together, their paths crossed in an incredible way in December 2007, thanks to a partnership between Ufabet Sport and UNICEF, ยูฟ่าเบท the charity supported by Barcelona at the time.
Yamal has a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother. He was born and raised in Espluques de Llobregat in Catalonia and joined La Masia at the age of six. When Yamal was just a four-month-old baby, his parents allowed Montfort to have their baby picture taken with Messi as part of a charity project with UNICEF.
‘We took photos at the Camp Nou, mostly in the away team’s dressing room but some outside,’ Montfort said. ‘I remember Messi and that kid, who we obviously didn’t know until they called me today, Lamine Yamal!’