Lionel Messi (Argentina), the “God of soccer,” was photographed 17 years ago bathing a baby, Lamine Yamal (Spain).
“Being compared to Messi was a burden for me,” Yamal said in an appearance on game streaming platform Twitch’s ‘Higueras’ channel on Wednesday (local time), explaining why he released the image late.
“No one likes to be compared to the greatest player of all time,” Yamal said of the “meeting of two geniuses,” but added, “I can never be like Messi. I don’t want to be compared to him, so my father kept the photo and didn’t show it to the public.”
“I didn’t even know what was going on when I took the picture,” he added.
Earlier, Yamal’s father had posted a photo of a young Messi bathing baby Yamal in the fall of 2007 in Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain, on his social media accounts last week with the caption “The beginning of two legends.”
The long-haired 20-year-old Messi was paired with the Yamal family, who had won a charity photo shoot for a calendar, and washed the baby, who was just a few months old, in a plastic tub next to Yamal’s mother.
When asked if Messi blessed him, his father said, “He blessed him,” according to ESPN. My son is the best in everything, not only as a soccer player but also as a person,” he said, showing his ‘son idiot’ side.
The 2007-born Yamal is being hailed as the best talent since Messi and is breaking various youngest records in soccer history.
When he made his La Liga debut for Barcelona last year, he became the youngest player to debut, start, and score in the league.
Yamal, who plays for the Spanish national soccer team, also competed at Euro 2024, where he became the youngest player in tournament history to make an appearance, assist, and score a goal.
Yamal, who celebrates his 17th birthday on Wednesday, will be looking to win his first title against England in the Euro final on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Messi’s Argentina will also play Colombia for the “throne” in the 2024 Copa America final.
The match is likely to be Messi’s international farewell.
The 37-year-old, who hinted at a possible retirement ahead of the tournament, saying “I don’t have a lot of time left to play,” is determined to make his “last dance” a spectacular one with a trophy. 사설 토토사이트