Video | Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal reunited 18 years after the famous photo: this was the greeting in the 2026 World Cup final

The grand final of the 2026 World Cup between Spain and Argentina had a very special ingredient: the first face-to-face of Lionel Messi, one of the best players in history, with Lamine Yamal, who is poised to take the throne as his heir in the current generation. The clash of two generations took place in nothing less than the fight for the most coveted title in history.

The pre-match at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey focused on the duel between two of the best players in the world. Lamine is making great strides despite his young age, while Lionel is on his way out but continues to showcase and give brushstrokes.

All the cameras in the world focused on the two left-footed players, the Argentine and the Spanish. They waited for the greeting, which was quite cold amid the protocol. Lionel Messi went around shaking hands with each of the Roja players and there was no special gesture of affection with Lamine, who also did not attempt to make the moment special.

The face-to-face has a very special meaning for the two players, who first met more than 18 years ago when Lamine Yamal was just a baby and Lionel Messi was 19 years old (the same age as his rival today).

The Unicef campaign found them in a photo that went down in history. The Argentine, with his long hair and when he was starting to earn a starting spot at Barcelona, bathed Lamine Yamal when he was barely 5 months old. The image went down in history and this Sunday, almost two decades later, gained a greater meaning.

“If I had sat down to write a story, I couldn’t have invented a better one. Everything behind this photograph; who they are, how it was made, how it reappeared years later, and how far they have come, seems like a perfect story,” said BBCJoan Monfort, the photographer who captured the image.

“Messi, one of the greatest in history, and Lamine, who is now beginning to write his own. And that now everything culminates with a World Cup final is like closing a perfect circle,” he added.

During last Friday’s event, Messi said that the photograph and the memory are “crazy,” noting that it is very difficult for coincidences like this to occur.

“That photo is crazy because, well, in life it is difficult to take a photo with a baby and then face him in a World Cup. The truth is it’s crazy. He is one of the best in the world right now, without a doubt, and I wish him the best of luck because it will also be good for Barcelona,” Messi said. 

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