Lionel Messi bathed Spain's Euro 2024 star Lamine Yamal as a baby

Lamine Yamal, the 16-year-old Spain and Barcelona prodigy, was once held by Camp Nou legend Lionel Messi as part of a charity calendar when he was just an infant.

The young forward has already made a name for himself as one of the most promising talents of his generation following his impressive performances for Spain at Euro 2024. The La Masia graduate has broken several records at the tournament, becoming the youngest player to ever participate and also score in the championships with a goal against France in the semi-final.

Yamal etched his name into the annals of football history when he played against Croatia at the tender age of just 16 years and 338 days, also contributing three assists so far in the tournament. However, his first brush with football fame came when he was only five months old during a photoshoot with Messi in December 2007.

Almost 17 years ago, Messi, then just 20 years old and yet to win a World Cup, participated in a charity event with Spanish newspaper Diario Sport to raise funds for charities including UNICEF. During the photoshoot, the Argentine forward held and even bathed baby Yamal in a series of photographs taken by Joan Monfort, reports the Mirror.

In an unexpected twist of fate, that toddler would eventually become a star player for Barcelona and an internationally recognised name. Monfort, the photographer who captured the unforgettable moment, recounted to The Athletic: "It was a difficult photo to take. We can say I sweated some blood to take it.

"(Lionel) Messi is still shy now; he was much more shy when he was starting out and he finds himself there with a tiny baby in a plastic bath full of water," he continued, describing the scene which played out. "And with his mother. At the