A photo of Barcelona fans' idol Lionel Messi "blessing" a child years ago has gone viral on social media. Coincidentally, the baby in question was Spain's new star: Lamine Yamal.
The photo shows Messi in his youth, long-haired and smiling, around 20 years old at the time, playing in a tub of water with a small baby, while his mother washes him.
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"The beginning of two legends," wrote Lamine's father, Mounir Nasroui, who posted the photo first.
Followers left comments saying that Messi was "blessing" the youngster and "passing his powers" to the 16-year-old who made his FC Barcelona debut at the age of 15.
The photo was taken in December 2007 – when Yamal was almost six months old – as part of a 2008 calendar that SPORT magazine did with UNICEF.
Like Messi, Yamal - who is one of the most talked about footballers of Euro 2024 - was trained as a footballer at the famous La Masia academy, which he joined when he was seven years old.
Yamal responded to the comments comparing him with Messi: "Messi is the best player in history. To be compared to him is incredible, but no one can compare to him. I hope to have half the career that Messi had."
