Afghanistan, July 17 -- A photograph of Lionel Messi holding and bathing a baby Lamine Yamal has gone viral again on social media ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, reviving one of football's most remarkable and unexpected stories.
The image was taken in December 2007 during a charity calendar project organized by UNICEF in partnership with the FC Barcelona Foundation. Families were selected through a public raffle to participate in the campaign, and Yamal's family was among those chosen.
At the time, Messi was a 20-year-old rising star at Barcelona, while Yamal was only a few months old. During the charity photoshoot, Messi posed while gently holding and bathing the infant, creating an image that would gain worldwide attention nearl...