On Tuesday, Yamal, now 16, a forward for the Spanish men's national soccer team, became the youngest player to score at a European Championship, curling a left-footed shot from 25 yards out past the diving goalkeeper Mike Maignan in a 2-1 semifinal win over France in Munich. A few hours later, Messi, now 37 and nearing the end of his illustrious career, scored a goal against Canada at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to send defending World Cup champion Argentina to the Copa America final, winning 2-0.
But what about that photo? Long before anyone knew that baby Ramin would follow in Messi's footsteps and become a soccer star raised in Barcelona, it showed Messi holding and bathing the baby. The photo was published in a calendar as part of an annual charity drive organized by a Catalan newspaper in the fall of 2007, and was taken by Joan Monfort, a freelance photographer for the Associated Press.
“We made the calendar with the help of UNICEF,” Monfort, 56, told The Associated Press. “So UNICEF organised a raffle in the Rocafonda neighbourhood of Mataró, where Lamine's family lived. They entered the raffle to have their photo taken with Barca players at Camp Nou, and they won the raffle.”
The photos were taken in the visitors' locker room at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium and pair different babies with different Barcelona players. Monfort said shooting with Messi was a challenge, even though he would go on to become the greatest player of his generation and was already an established star in his fourth season with Barcelona's first team.
“Messi is a very introverted guy, very shy,” Monfort told The Associated Press. “He came out of the dressing room and all of a sudden he found himself in another dressing room with a baby in a plastic tub full of water. It was a complicated situation. At first he didn't even know how to hold the baby.”
Like Messi, Yamal grew up in Barcelona's La Masia youth academy and became the youngest player to debut and score a goal in the Spanish league last year. He has played 38 times for Barcelona this season, scoring five goals. In 2006, Messi became the youngest player to score a goal in a World Cup match just shy of his 19th birthday, and two years ago he led his country to their first World Cup victory since 1986. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is currently in his first season with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
Spain will face either England or the Netherlands in the European Championship final in Berlin on Sunday, the day after Yamal's 17th birthday. Argentina will face the winner of Wednesday's match between Uruguay and Colombia on Sunday in Miami. If both countries win, Yamal and Messi could be photographed together again.
“I'm very happy to be a part of something that has caused such a sensation,” Monfort said of her photo going viral this week. “It feels really good, to be honest.”
