The photograph is from 2007. A 20-year-old Lionel Messi, barely into his Barcelona career, giving an infant a bath during a UNICEF charity calendar shoot at Camp Nou. The baby’s family had won a raffle for the session. The photographer, Joan Monfort, later called the image “a true miracle of destiny.”
The baby was Lamine Yamal.
Nineteen years later, the two will stand on opposite sides of the 2026 World Cup Final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey — Argentina against Spain, 3 p.m. ET, 80,000 expected in the stands, the cheapest secondary-market tickets hovering near $10,000. It will be the first time they have ever shared a pitch as opponents.
At a Fanatics Fest Q&A in New York on Friday, Tom Brady asked Messi about the photo. Messi smiled and called