Argentine national football player Lionel Messi and Spanish national player Lamine Yamal posed together in a photo shoot in 2007. The authenticity of this photo was confirmed by UNICEF. The two footballers will face each other in the 2026 World Cup final.The photo dates back to the 2008 calendar prepared jointly by the Catalan newspaper Diario Sport and UNICEF in the fall of 2007. As part of the project, Barcelona A Team footballers posed in front of the camera with children from the surrounding areas.UNICEF organized a competition in the Rocafonda neighborhood of Mataró, a town near Barcelona, to determine the families that would participate in the project. One of the winning families was Lamine Yamal's family. Thus, Yamal, who was just a baby at the time, appeared in the same photo frame as Lionel Messi.The photographer, Joan Monfort, said
At that time, no one could have imagined that this baby would become what he is today, and you couldn't have imagined what Messi would become either.
in an interview.UNICEF shared the photo on its social media account on Thursday and stated
Yes, the photos you see are real. More than 18 years ago, a baby named Lamine Yamal and his mother Sheila met Lionel Messi at a photo shoot for a UNICEF charity event. Today, their achievements on the field inspire millions.
.With this statement, the authenticity of the photo, which has been etched in the memory of football fans for years, has been officially confirmed once again.
