As has always been said about Barcelona and football, coincidences are a part of the sport. From revisiting similar-looking goals to seeing new players be compared to the greats of yesterday, such is the poetic nature of the game. However, some things at Barcelona transcend mere coincidence and almost begin to feel like fate instead.
At least, that is what was being mentioned when an online trend started over just a simple picture that showed Barcelona and Argentinian icon Lionel Messi, much early into his career, with a certain baby. Many people on the internet began to suspect that there is a great similarity between that child and Barça’s most recent prodigy.
Lamine Yamal, now aged 16, is currently the poster boy of the future that Barça and Spain are trying to sell. However, many believe that the baby being smiled at by Messi in the image is none other than the very same wonderkid who represents Barça and La Roja today.
Finally, it seems that all those curious minds have now received clarity and an ultimate answer to their theories. As highlighted by SPORT, Lamine Yamal’s father has confirmed that the child seen in that old photograph is indeed his son, who was given his blessing by Messi all the way back then.
Interestingly, that is not the only picture that both Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi feature in together. While the picture of Messi with baby Yamal also featured the mother of the child, there is another more recent picture of the two homegrown Barcelona products that is much clearer to judge even without additional confirmation.
Standing alongside Messi, now already cemented as one of the sport’s finest, was a more grown-up Lamine Yamal. Not exactly the version of the player that represents Barcelona today, but not exactly a mere baby either. That photo has also been confirmed by the player’s father to have featured his son.
In a rather fateful and poetic way, the past has seemingly intertwined Messi and Yamal. While the Barcelona gem’s father would prefer to highlight both of them as two ‘legends’, there is certainly not complete hyperbole there.
While the World Cup winner and former Barcelona superstar is a bonafide legend through and through, Yamal also has all the makings of embarking on an eventful career moving forward.
