Euro 2024 final: The photographer who captured Lionel Messi and baby Lamine Yamal rare details of the shot after the photos resurfaced | CNN

CNN
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Joan Monfort’s world has changed.

The Barcelona icon has been a fixture at sporting events around Spain for over 30 years, but a photo he took back in 2007 has recently resurfaced, turning him into a global sensation.

Monfort was the photographer who captured the then 20-year-old Lionel Messi holding a baby as part of a UNICEF photoshoot with Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​the Argentine soccer star and it is standing with a person taking a bath next to his mother.

Apparently, greatness was about to become great. The child in question is Barcelona and Spain teenager Lamine Yamal, who turned 17 on July 13.

Yamal has been the standout performer at Euro 2024, with his stunning goal breakaway in the final against France cementing his place as the world’s most exciting talent.

“I’m still living the dream,” Monfort told CNN’s Don Riddell as the photographer reflected on the feelings he’s had over the past few days.

Photos of Messi holding Yamal caught the world’s attention when his father posted a photo on his Instagram account of the baby’s mother and the Argentinian smiling at the baby in a soapy bath with the words: “The beginning of two legends.”

Then in early July, Monfort got an unexpected phone call.

Monfort says: “An employee at the SPORT newspaper, called me at 12 o’clock at night and said to me: ‘Is this your picture?'” Monfort says. “And I answered: ‘Yes, this is my picture.’ I [took] this picture years ago.’ Then I asked: ‘Who is the child?’ And he [told] I’m a Lionel Messi kid, that’s right. And the other baby is Lamine Yamal.”

Before making the call, Monfort admitted that he had forgotten about the photo and that he did not know who the child was who had taken the picture with Messi, explaining that the photoshoot came as part of a fundraising project and awareness between Barça and UNICEF.

The team and UNICEF ran the project every year, producing a calendar of team stars and local people from different cultures.

A few years earlier, a photo included Barcelona and Brazil star Ronaldinho posing with Monfort’s daughter, Jana.

Yamal grew up in the neighborhood of Rocafonda in Mataró, a town near Barcelona. These days, his celebration after scoring involves using his fingers to make the numbers three, zero and four in front of his chest – a reference to the last three numbers making The 08304 postal code of hte Rocafonda.

Monfort said Yamal’s family won the raffle to be participants in the photo film, while Jana said it was a valid request due to the families’ “economic problems”.

During the photo shoot, Monfort remembers Messi being “very shy” but “very professional” as he posed for pictures with Yamal.

Jana, who says she was five years old at the time of the shooting, remembers a rubber duck that appears in some scenes. This duck happened to be a regular part of his home bathing routine for many years but unfortunately, it has since been lost.

After the photoshoot, the idea of ​​the photo fell to the back of his mind as he focused on another job – he was used to the success of Barcelona and Messi on the field, while covering the Olympics, Formula One and MotoGP. .

Even when he won the then 15-year-old Yamal to become the last player over a century to make his Barcelona debut last year or when he watched the youngster play in the At the start of Euro 2024, Monfort didn’t know he would do that. he has photographed the Spanish international as a baby.

It was only a few hours after 16-year-old Yamal provided an assist and played a key role in Spain’s quarter-final win over tournament host Germany that Monfort was told of the meeting. his first with Yamal.

“It’s kind of crazy. I never thought that my father would do something like this,” Jana told CNN. “I mean I love his work but I wasn’t, I wasn’t ready for this. I don’t know. It was crazy.

“He is very clear. In fact, he is not happy. Well, maybe for a few days. But after that he is just the same, not that kind of person. ”

Monfort said he was “proud” of the photo, as it represented a “one in a billion moment”.

Both Messi and Yamal attended Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy and made their debuts at an early age, although the Argentine was 18 when he made his international debut.

Messi is Barça’s record scorer with 672 goals. He also played the most matches, won the most awards, and received the most Balón d’Or awards in history of the group.