Photographer gives origin story behind viral image of Messi and baby Lamine YamalThe serendipity of the photo is hard to comprehend. Two decades ago, a rising star and a newborn were paired together for a photo shoot. Now, they are battling for the World Cup.A 20-year-old Lionel Messi helps to bathe Lamine Yamal, who was merely 6 months old at the time, during a photo session in 2007 in the dressing room of the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain.Joan Monfort / AP fileJuly 17, 2026, 2:12 PM EDTOne night in 2007, Joan Monfort was bathing his young daughter when he received a phone call about an assignment the following day. Monfort, a photographer, was leading a charity calendar photo shoot of Barcelona soccer players posing with children. He got word that one of the players, an ascendent young star from Argentina named Lionel Messi, would be paired with an infant baby. Now Monfort needed to figure out how to stage the photo. Just a moment.We are getting your experience ready.