As Argentina prepares to lock horns with Spain at MetLife Stadium for the highly anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup final, the true story behind photos of Lionel Messi bathing baby Lamine Yamal has been unveiled.
This comes after a series of decades-old photos showing a 20-year-old Messi bathing a four-month-old Yamal in a plastic tub has completely taken over social media.
Once written off by skeptics as an AI-generated hoax, the reality behind these images is far more extraordinary than fiction.
Breaking the silence, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said the old photos of Messi bathing and caring for a baby Yamal were taken during its fundraising photoshoot in Barcelona.
UNICEF added that the images were captured around Christmas in 2007 inside the away dressing room at Barcelona’s Camp Nou.
The photo shoot was organized by the Catalan newspaper Diario SPORT in partnership with UNICEF for a 2008 charity fundraising calendar.
“Yes, those photos you’ve seen are real. More than 18 years ago, a baby named Lamine Yamal and his mom Sheila met Lionel Messi at a UNICEF fundraising photoshoot,” the organisation wrote.
“Today, their achievements on the pitch inspire millions. Off the pitch, both Messi and Lamine Yamal use their voices and platforms as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors to support and advocate for children around the world. The goal? That every child survives, thrives, and fulfils their potential. We are proud to have them on our team.”
The pictures were taken in 2007 at Camp Nou when Messi was only 20 years old and had recently become a regular starter for Barcelona, and Yamal was only five months old.
Yamal’s parents had won a newspaper raffle to have their son feature in the campaign.
Yamal’s family participated in a UNICEF community project in the Rocafonda neighbourhood of Mataró and won a raffle organised by the non-governmental organisation for their newborn son to appear in a photograph with a Barcelona first-team player for the calendar.
The player could have been any member of the squad, including Eric Abidal, Xavi Hernández, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Andrés Iniesta, Carles Puyol or Víctor Valdés, but the draw paired the family with Messi.
Yamal was born on Friday, July 13, 2007.
