Messi speaks for the first time about bathing in Lamine Yamal: "It's crazy"

The captain of the Argentine national team answered several questions, including, of course, about the famous photo session in which he appeared bathing Lamine Yamal, who was still a baby, in 2007. Nineteen years later, the two will meet again on the biggest stage in world football, and Messi himself admitted that the situation seems unbelievable.

"The story of this photo is crazy, because it's life, isn't it? I took a photo when he was a baby and, today, we are facing each other in a World Cup... The truth is that it is crazy. But he is one of the best players in the world at the moment, without a doubt, and I wish him the best of luck, because his good will also be the good of Barcelona", he stated.

"We will try to play a great game so that he cannot show his best version, although that will be difficult. Spain also has other great players and plays high-level football, but we also have our weapons", he continued, in statements published by the Argentine newspaper Olé.

"Lamine is a great player, who I followed a lot because he plays for the club that I love and to which I always wish the best. Furthermore, he is already one of the great references in world football at just 19 years old. He has his entire career ahead of him and a great opportunity to achieve something historic. We will do our best to prevent that from happening this time, although I wish him all the best", he added.

The story of the photo that marked the World Cup

The story between these two stars began in 2007, when Lamine Yamal was not even six months old. His parents entered him into a draw promoted by UNICEF, within a recently signed partnership with the Barcelona Foundation, which aimed to defend the rights of children in vulnerable situations and promote education through sport.

Mounir Nasraoui and Sheila Ebana had no idea that luck would really knock on their door. The son won the contest and the prize was participating in a photo session with Lionel Messi, who, at the time, was still a young promise starting to gain space in Barcelona's first team.

Photographer Joan Monfort, specialized in artistic, sports, fashion and portrait photography, was responsible for recording the images for the Sport newspaper. The photos went down in history as the moment Lionel Messi bathed Lamine Yamal, in a scene that, years later, would take on an almost unbelievable meaning.

"It was a chance of life. At that moment, it was impossible to imagine what would happen almost 20 years later. It's a combination of factors that only happens once", confessed the photographer himself years later, when the baby in the photo also reached the highest level of football, playing for Barcelona at Camp Nou.

"It was a complicated photo session. Messi was even more shy than he is today", revealed Joan Monfort, explaining that she came up with the idea for the scenario the night before, while bathing her own daughter. At that time, the Argentine star was not yet a father — that would only happen in 2012 — and, according to the photographer, "holding a baby wasn't exactly his specialty", but he accomplished the mission.

Read Also: From the bath to the World Cup final. The story of Messi's photo with Lamine Yamal