Spain and Barcelona winger, Lamine Yamal has disclosed that photos of him as a baby with legend Lionel Messi were deliberately kept private to prevent comparisons with the Argentine icon.
During the tournament, images of Messi bathing Yamal, alongside Yamal’s mother, have surfaced and quickly went viral, sparking a frenzy among football fans.
These photos, part of a charity calendar shoot from 2007, were revealed by Lamine Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, on Instagram.
Lamine Yamal, who has provided three assists and scored a crucial goal in Spain’s 2-1 semi-final victory over France, shared the reason behind the secrecy.
“Obviously, in the moment the photos were taken I wasn’t conscious of what was going on at that age,” Yamal told Jijantes.
“My dad had the photos saved and they never came out, basically because we didn’t want the comparisons with Messi. No one would be annoyed to be compared with the best to ever play the game, but it’s something that could work against you because you’re never going to be like him.”
The photos, captured by freelance photographer Joan Monfort for the Associated Press, were taken by chance when Yamal’s family won a raffle to have their picture taken with a Barça player at Camp Nou.
Monfort recounted the fortunate event, saying, “They signed up for the raffle to have their picture taken at the Camp Nou with a Barça player. And they won the raffle.”
