- Lamine Yamal has already drawn comparisons to the iconic Lionel Messi despite only being 16 years old.
- The youngster’s father posted an image of Yamal as a baby, with Barcelona legend Messi.
- This is one of a few images of the pair taken in 2007 for a charity calendar.
Fans were left shocked when Mounir Nasroui, the father of young Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal, posted a photo on social media of the 16-year-old as a baby with Lionel Messi. The incredible origin story behind the image has now been revealed.
Yamal has become one of the biggest talking points in European football in the past 12 months as the winger has taken both La Liga and the Champions League by storm. His incredible rise to prominence has seen the youngster line up as one of Spain’s most important players at Euro 2024.
Before even reaching his 17th birthday, Yamal has drawn incredible comparisons to the greatest player to ever grace a football pitch, Messi. The Argentine is the most notable graduate from Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy. It’s unlikely anyone will ever live up to the lofty expectations set by the record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, but Yamal is backed to have a meteoric trajectory all the same.
The Story Behind Yamal and Messi’s Picture
Yamal was just six months old at the time
The image in question sees a youthful looking Messi smiling at a baby, which turns out to be Yamal. The Spanish international wasn’t even one-year-old at the time as the photograph was taken in December 2007. View the image below:
It originally came from a calendar which was released each year by the publication, SPORT. Yamal and Messi’s now infamous picture featured in the 2008 version of the charity calendar. The former’s mother, Sheila Ebana, is also featured as she bathed her son in the picture.
Clearly proud of his son’s rise to becoming known as Messi’s potential successor, Nasroui captioned his Instagram post with: “The beginning of two legends.” Yamal has made an impressive start to his professional career, but still has a long way to go to reach Messi’s status.
He claims the Argentine is ‘the best player in history’
The young man certainly isn’t getting carried away with such big talk surrounding his future, as Yamal told Onda Cero:
“Messi is the best player in history. To be compared to him is incredible, but no one can be compared to him. I hope to have half the career that Messi has had.”
Luis de la Fuente has shown incredible faith in the teenager on the international scene, as the Spain manager has given license to both Yamal and Nico Williams to be the electric attacking forces of the team at Euro 2024. His performances in Germany come as no surprise to those who have watched the wonderfully tricky and technical winger in action at club level.
His journey has only just started, but the comparisons to Messi make sense with Yamal’s wonderful dribbling ability coupled with his wand of a left foot. More strong showings in the next few years will see the Spaniard become one of the best players in world football.