World Cup destiny: Messi bathed Yamal as a baby, now they face off for soccer's top title

BARCELONA - Almost two decades ago, photographer Joan Monfort didn't think much of his photo shoot of a teenage Lionel Messi bathing a cute baby boy in a plastic bathtub. [KSAT 12]

BARCELONA, Spain — A photograph taken during a 2007 charity event has become the unlikely centerpiece of World Cup folklore, linking two generations of soccer excellence separated by two decades and now bound by Sunday's championship match.

Freelance photojournalist Joan Monfort captured the image while documenting a calendar project produced by local newspaper Sport and UNICEF. The shoot took place at Camp Nou stadium and featured a young Lionel Messi bathing an infant in a plastic tub. That baby was Lamine Yamal, though neither subject nor photographer could have foreseen the significance the moment would eventually hold. Yamal's mother won a local raffle that allowed her family to participate in the charity production.

Years passed before the connection became apparent. Messi departed Barcelona in 2021 due to the club's financial hardships, while Yamal emerged as a prospect within the organization roughly 15 years after that bathtub session. The photograph gathered dust in obscurity until Yamal's father shared it on social media during the 2024 European Championship, when the teenage winger was establishing himself as a force for Spain's squad. The rediscovery set off a cascade of global interest, particularly as both players advanced through their respective World Cup campaigns.

"I have never been a believer or thought that anything was destined to occur, but I am beginning to have my doubts. This is beyond all reasonable explanations," Monfort told the Associated Press from his Barcelona residence on Friday. The photographer noted the timing of the final in the United States amplified the story's resonance across international audiences.

The matchup now presents a remarkable full-circle moment: the 39-year-old Argentine legend will face a 19-year-old Spanish sensation he unknowingly baptized two decades prior. Messi offered measured perspective on the improbable circumstance, saying Yamal deserves recognition as one of soccer's elite performers at his age and praised the younger player's boundless potential.

However, Monfort has experienced a complicated aftermath to his images' viral status. While major media organizations have sought licensing rights, the photographs have proliferated across social media platforms without proper attribution or compensation to the photographer.