The Story Behind Lamine Yamal’s Hidden Photos with Messi
Spain and Barcelona winger, Lamine Yamal, revealed that baby photos of him with football legend Lionel Messi were kept private to avoid comparisons with the Argentine star.
Recently, images of Messi bathing Yamal, with Yamal’s mother present, surfaced online and quickly went viral, captivating football fans.
These photos were part of a charity calendar shoot from 2007 and were shared on Instagram by Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui.
Yamal, who has made three assists and scored a key goal in Spain’s 2-1 semi-final win over France, explained the reason for keeping the photos secret.
“At the time the photos were taken, I was too young to understand what was happening,” Yamal told Jijantes.
“My dad kept the photos hidden because we didn’t want comparisons with Messi. While being compared to the best player ever is flattering, it can also be a burden since you can never truly measure up to him.”
The photos, taken by freelance photographer Joan Monfort for the Associated Press, happened by chance when Yamal’s family won a raffle to have their picture taken with a Barça player at Camp Nou.
Monfort recalled, “They entered a raffle to have their picture taken with a Barça player at Camp Nou, and they won.”
