When Joan Monfort took photos of Lionel Messi with a baby for a charity calendar almost 17 years ago, he knew the long-haired young man would make it big in could not have imagined the little boy would as baby in the photos was none other than young Spanish star Lamine Yamal who, at 16, is showing such promise for Messi's former Barcelona club that he's already being compared to the greats became the youngest player ever in the ongoing Euro 2024 in Germany and has been one of the best players on Spain's national team during the has three assists in these Euros along with a wonder goal from outside the box in the first half of Spain's tournament semifinal against 's Lamine Yamal becomes UEFA Euro's youngest goal-scorer ever after INCREDIBLE 21' equalizer against FranceMonfort took a picture that now resembles the future and past legends of long-forgotten photo from 2007 resurfaced after Yamal's father posted it on Instagram last week with the text "the beginning of two legends."Monfort, 56 https://www.argentina2026shop.com/collections/lionel-messi-jersey, who works as a freelance photographer for The Associated Press and others, said the photo shoot took place in the visitors' locker room at Barcelona's Camp Nou in the autumn of 2007, when Yamal was just a few months players posed with children and their families for a calendar as part of an annual charity drive by local newspaper Diario Sport and UNICEF. Monfort was in charge of the photo shoots and it just so happened that Messi was paired with Yamal's family. His mother, who is from Equatorial Guinea https://www.argentina2026shop.com/collections/geronimo-rulli-jersey, is next to Messi and the baby in one of the photos."We made the calendar with the help of UNICEF. So UNICEF did a raffle in the neighborhood of Roca Fonda in Matar where Lamine's family lived. They signed up for the raffle to have their picture taken at the Camp Nou with a Barca player. And they won the raffle, " Monfort said."Messi is a pretty introverted guy, he's shy, " Monfort said. "He was coming out of the locker room and suddenly he finds himself in another locker room with a plastic tub full of water and a baby in it. It was complicated. He didn't even know how to hold him at first."Messi was 20 at the time and fresh into his Barcelona career, was already considered a big talent, but it would take a couple of years before he made his mark as the most outstanding player of his generation for Barcelona and Argentina. Messi's Argentina side is now two wins away from winning the 2024 Copa Amrica, which would be its third straight major international tournament barks after being tricked into watching Messi highlights instead of Ronaldo France in the semifinals on Tuesday. Yamal will turn 17 on Saturday, the day before the final in , 56 Juan Musso Jersey, had no idea it was Yamal in those photos from 2007 until a friend messaged him as they started trending 's had a long career as a sports photographer since 1991, following Barcelona around the world, but said he's never experienced this level of excitement around any of his photos."It's very exciting to be associated with something that has caused such a sensation, " he said. "To tell you the truth it's a very nice feeling."Reporting by The Associated Press.