For more than 30 years, the Barcelona-based photographer Joan Monfort has been a fixture at athletic events throughout Spain.
Lionel Messi, who was 20 at the time, was photographed by Joan Monfort cradling a newborn during a UNICEF and Barcelona photo shoot. The Argentine football player also posed with the infant in the bathtub with his mother.
A 20-year-old Lionel Messi holding baby Lamine Yamal during a UNICEF charity calendar photoshoot at FC Barcelona in 2007. pic.twitter.com/a5ZQhXZYZ6
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) May 26, 2025
It turned out that greatness was awaiting greatness. The infant in question is Lamine Yamal, a teenage sensation from Barcelona and Spain who turned 17 on July 13.
Yamal had been the standout player at Euro 2024, and his incredible goal against France in the semifinal solidified his status as the most exciting player in the world of football. He has since gone onto win the La Liga with Barcelona although he lost out on the UEFA Nations League after losing the Spain vs Barcelona in which he was pocketed by Nuno Mendes before eventually getting substituted.
“I’m just living in a dream,” Monfort told media as the photographer reflected on the rollercoaster of emotions he’s experienced.
20 year old Lionel Messi holding baby Lamine Yamal (2007)
In September 2007, a 20-year-old Lionel Messi participated in a charity calendar photoshoot organized by FC Barcelona, the newspaper Dario Sport, and Unicef.
During this event, Messi was photographed holding and bathing… pic.twitter.com/URa5vXrMOm
— Commuter (@commuterny) May 11, 2025
When Yamal’s father uploaded a photograph of the baby’s mother and the Argentine grinning at the baby in a soapy bath to his Instagram account with the caption, “The beginning of two legends,” the images of Messi cradling Yamal captured the attention of the entire globe.
In September 2007, a 20-year-old Lionel Messi participated in a charity calendar photoshoot organized by FC Barcelona, the newspaper Dario Sport, and Unicef and during this event, Messi was photographed holding and bathing six month old Lamine Yamal in the visitors’ locker room at Camp Nou.
The photo was published in a 2008 charity calendar organised by Barcelona’s club foundation and Catalan newspaper Diario Sport, with the money raised going to charitable organisations including UNICEF and different NGOs around Catalonia.
Joan Monfort was a struggling freelance photographer. In 2008 the Sport newspaper commissioned him a few shots for what would become a Christmas calendar.
He cast Messi and a black baby called Lamine for a picture.
He can now retire from the royalties this picture will get him. https://t.co/QuCBDEtbZ7 pic.twitter.com/Hlu11pad5M
— Nacho Oliveras (@NachoOliveras) July 11, 2024
Hundreds of families collaborated with the initiative for a number of years and most of the photos have now been forgotten, outside of the families of the children who have treasured private memories.
Then, in the beginning of July, Monfort unexpectedly got a call. Prior to the call, Monfort acknowledges that he had forgotten about the picture and was unaware of the identity of the infant who had been shot with Messi. He clarifies that the photo shoot was a component of a UNICEF and Barça fundraising and awareness campaign.
Every year, the club and UNICEF oversaw the effort, creating a calendar featuring the team’s top players from various ethnic backgrounds.
Who is Joan Monfort?
Joan Monfort is a professional photographer with a variety of skills. He received his training in Barcelona at the Gris Art school. With a focus on photojournalism, he worked with Mundo Deportivo from 1990 to 1994.
After that, he spent two years working as a film camera assistant, still photographer, advertising photographer, and architectural photographer. He joined the just launched newspaper ECO in 1996. Joan began working with the publication SPORT in December 1997, and he joined their crew of photographers in 2001.
He was awarded the Sports Journalism of Catalonia award in 2006 for his visual journalism work on integration and solidarity with the Futbol Club Barcelona players. He has contributed to several collaborative books and exhibitions. The Associated Press (AP), SEAT, Banco de Santander, and Back to Eco are his primary clients as a freelancer.