Lionel Messi Finally Reacts To Viral Photo With Lamine Yamal Ahead Of FIFA World Cup 2026 Final: "Crazy"
Argentina football team superstar Lionel Messi finally reacted to his famous picture with Spain youngster Lamine Yamal ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final.
- Lionel Messi finally reacted to his famous picture with Lamine Yamal ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final
- The photo was taken back in 2007 as part of a charity calendar produced by local newspaper Sport and UNICEF
- "Took a picture when he was a baby... the fact that we're both playing in the World Cup now is crazy," he said
Argentina football team superstar Lionel Messi finally reacted to his famous picture with Spain youngster Lamine Yamal ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final. The photo was taken back in 2007 as part of a charity calendar produced at the FC Barcelona stadium by local newspaper Sport and UNICEF. A bit more than 18 years later, both stars will face off in the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. "That photo is incredible," Messi said on Friday. "I took a picture with him when he was a baby... the fact that we're both playing in the World Cup now is crazy."
"He's one of the best in the world right now," Messi said at FIFA's Fanatics Fest in New York. "I wish him luck because his success will be Barcelona's success, [but] we'll try to keep him from playing at his best. Spain has a great team, not just him. We have our own weapons, too. "He's a tremendous player... a global star," Messi added.
"He's 19 years old and has his whole career ahead of him. I wish him the best, but we'll give it our all to ensure he doesn't become champion this time."
Yamal's Spain teammate Mikel Merino had the same reaction as most people who see the photos.
“The first time I saw it, I thought it was AI and that it wasn't even real,” Merino said Friday. “It's unbelievable that two of the best players to have played the game — and hopefully Lamine, in the future, will be one of those — share a picture like that. Hopefully we're going to see a very bright final with those two protagonists at their best, playing and giving all the fans a great spectacle.”
Like many Barcelona fans, Monfort's loyalty is split. It is common to see children wearing both Yamal's Barcelona and Spain shirts, as well as any Messi shirt, whether from his Barcelona years or Argentina or his current club, Inter Miami, on the city's streets.
Monfort, 58, is considering traveling to see the final in New Jersey, but whether he watches it in person or at home, he said he will have trouble cheering for one team or the other.
“My heart is split. I don't know if I want Messi or Yamal to win,” said Monfort, a lifelong Barcelona supporter.
“I have an everlasting love for the best player of all time (Messi),” he said, but “Yamal has broken the mold here” and represents a new, diverse Spain, thanks to his parents from Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. “Maybe they can both win. I wouldn't rule it out after everything we have seen.”
(With AP inputs)
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