The photos were taken for a charity calendar in 2007, when then 20-year-old Messi — now known as one of the most outstanding football players of his generation — was paired at random with baby Yamal.

One of the long-forgotten photos resurfaced after Yamal’s father posted it on Instagram with the text “the beginning of two legends.”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 old. Barcelona players posed with children and their families for the photos as part of an annual charity drive by a local newspaper and UNICEF. Joan Monfort, who oversaw the photo shoots, said it just so happened that Messi was paired with Yamal’s family. Yamal’s mother is next to Messi and the baby in one of the photos. : Baby photos — AP Photo/Joan Monfort; Yamal playing in the semi-finals of the EURO 2024 — xBEAUTIFULxSPORTS/Wunderlx