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The story behind the viral photos of Lionel Messi and a baby Lamine Yamal

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The story behind the viral photos of Lionel Messi and a baby Lamine Yamal

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“It was a difficult photo to take,” Joan Monfort tells The Athletic. “We can say I sweated some blood to take it.

“(Lionel) Messi is still shy now; he was much more shy when he was starting out and he finds himself there with a tiny baby in a plastic bath full of water. And with his mother. At the start, there was not much interaction. It was difficult for all of them. But, bit by bit, it started to happen and in the end, it’s a pretty good photo.”

In December 2007, Monfort took a photo of a 20-year-old Lionel Messi, who had begun his legendary Barcelona career just over four years earlier, and Lamine Yamal — who was just six months old.

It was published in a 2008 charity calendar organised by Barcelona’s club foundation and Catalan newspaper Diario Sport, with the money raised going to charitable organisations including UNICEF and different NGOs around Catalonia.

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Members of the Barcelona squad were photographed alongside children. Hundreds of families collaborated with the initiative for a number of years and most of the photos have now been forgotten, outside of the families of the children who have treasured private memories.

It just so happens that Yamal, Barca’s teenage star of the future, ended up paired with the man who would go on to win the Ballon d’Or eight times.

The bathing photo, as well as a number of other images from the shoot, including one where Messi is seen cradling a baby Yamal in a towel and another where his mother Sheila Ebana helps wash her son, have returned to public view because one was posted on social media on Thursday night by Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barca’s Yamal — the record-breaking 16-year-old who is starring for Spain at this summer’s European Championship.

“It’s something incredible,” Monfort says. “Back then, nobody could imagine that this baby would be who he is now — and you could not have known that Messi would become who he became, either.

“We are talking about 2007. Messi was only beginning at Barca then. Destiny plays an important role in these things.”

In December 2007, Messi had already won two La Liga titles and a Champions League, but was still just an emerging talent in a squad full of established stars including Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Thierry Henry and many other household names.

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“They gave you a list of players — 12: one for each month,” Monfort says. “You have to take your time. Often footballers come in and say, ‘Let’s go, let’s do it. I’m in a rush; what do you want to do?’.

“It can be a bit cold, especially in a photo where you need interaction between two people who do not know each other. Then, when one is six months old and the other is 20, it can get difficult, but it turned out pretty well.

“The mother helped a lot. Her presence was super necessary, so the baby did not feel it was too strange. You look for a tender image — something sweet and nice.”


Lamine Yamal has been a revelation for Spain at Euro 2024 (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Monfort says he always tried to make sure each family got a copy of the photos he took to keep themselves, especially in this case given the effort Yamal’s mother made to take him to Camp Nou from the town of Mataro, north-east of Barcelona.

“I’d always want to give them a photo; it makes them really happy,” Monfort says. “The player might not be too worried but the parents of the kids would be very excited. They lived in Mataro, 40km away from Barcelona. Not everyone would do that, with a young baby too. They would have to make the trip, then wait for the player to arrive; for everything to be set up.”

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Six and a half years later, Yamal started to get the train regularly from Mataro when he joined Barca’s La Masia academy.

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What makes Lamine Yamal such a special footballer?

His progress has been phenomenal: a La Liga debut aged 15 in April 2023, an international debut at 16 last September, and now Yamal is a key part of the Spain side which on Friday beat Germany 2-1 to make the Euro 2024 semi-finals.

“It’s a one-in-a-million chance that this could happen,” Monfort says. “It’s such good fortune.

Lionel Messi, Argentina

Lionel Messi is currently playing for Argentina at the Copa America (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

“These days, it happens a bit more as people have their phones and share photos, but this is like the photo of Guardiola as a kid applauding (former Barcelona and England manager) Terry Venables being carried on players’ shoulders. When Venables died, Pep posted the image.”

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This photo of a 15-year-old Guardiola, himself then a La Masia student and Barca ball boy, later a Barca player and coach, and now Manchester City manager, is from April 1986. Englishman Venables was then midway through his three-year spell as Blaugrana coach and was hoisted aloft by players Paco Clos and Migueli after the team came from 3-0 down and then won a penalty shootout in a European Cup semi-final against Goteborg.

Monfort is still taking photos, these days for Madrid-headquartered Diario AS. He was surprised when a former colleague from Diario Sport contacted him after the photo of Messi and Yamal was posted and went viral.

“He asked me, ‘Was this my photo?’,” Monfort says. “I said ‘yes’. He sent me the photo and I asked him, ‘Who is the baby?’ and he started to laugh, and said ‘Lamine, Lamine’.

“He told me the father had put it on social media. In Sport, they could hardly believe it. They had just realised too.

“It’s been really surprising, all this. We take so many photos, so many images. Some of them will remain.

“For Lamine to grow up to be a footballer, and to have this photo, I’m just really happy it happened. It’s especially nice in today’s football, when so much is to do with money and power.”

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Spain’s Lamine Yamal passes school exams during Euro 2024

(Top photo: Diario Sport/Joan Monfort)

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NFL fans upset as Eagles benefit from early whistle on tush push vs Giants

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NFL fans upset as Eagles benefit from early whistle on tush push vs Giants

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The Philadelphia Eagles took the lead in the second quarter against the New York Giants on Sunday following a controversial call on the notorious tush push play.

The Eagles had the ball on 4th-and-1 with Jalen Hurts under center. He had his teammates behind him to push him across the first down marker to keep the ball. As he was getting pushed forward, Giants pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux ripped the ball out of Hurts’ hands.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, right, hands off to Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) who runs for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia.  (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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It appeared the Giants were going to get the ball back. But as the team was celebrating, the officials on the field blew the play dead and gave Philadelphia the first down. Head referee Brad Rodgers explained afterward the officials ruled that Hurts’ forward progress was stopped.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll was irate on the sidelines.

Two plays later, Hurts tossed the ball to Saquon Barkley for a touchdown that helped Philadelphia go up 14-7. It was Barkley’s second touchdown of the game.

Saquon Barkley jumps into the end zone

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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NFL fans, already fed up with the tush push and how it’s being officiated, were upset with the most recent incident.

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In the last meeting between the two teams, the Eagles ran the tush push four straight times in one of their touchdown drives. New York ended up winning that game earlier this month.

Brian Daboll at the podium

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll responds to questions after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Denver.  (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

NFL owners have been under pressure to ban the play. It survived a vote that would have prohibited the call during the offseason. It’s expected to be revisited next year.

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Would MLB make Arte Moreno sell Angels in wake of Tyler Skaggs trial?

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Would MLB make Arte Moreno sell Angels in wake of Tyler Skaggs trial?

As the trial about whether the Angels should be held at least partially liable for the death of Tyler Skaggs enters its third week, major league officials are closely monitoring the proceedings.

The trial is scheduled to last several more weeks, and it would be premature for the league to determine what action it might take against the Angels — if any — until all evidence is revealed in court and a verdict or a settlement is reached.

However, it is considered highly unlikely that the league would compel Angels owner Arte Moreno to sell the team.

Consideration of any action probably would be deferred until the league could conduct its own investigation and until a jury verdict, if there is one, is fully reviewed by an appeals court.

The Skaggs family is seeking $785 million in damages, as first reported by the Athletic, based on the allegation the Angels knew or should have known that former staffer Eric Kay was using illegal drugs, including the pills he provided to Skaggs on the night the pitcher died in 2019. The Angels deny the allegations.

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The jury would not have to decide whether to award all of that money or none of it. The jury first would have to determine who was liable: the Angels, Kay, Skaggs and any other parties. Then the jury would decide what percentage of liability each of those parties should assume and what the financial compensation should be.

As an example, a jury could decide the damages should be $210 million — the amount the family listed as a minimum in a court filing — and the Angels should be held one-third responsible. Under that example, they would be assessed $70 million.

In 1943, Philadelphia Phillies owner William Cox was banned for life for betting on baseball.

If history is any indication, if the league believes an owner merits discipline, an owner would be more likely to be suspended than banned. In 1993, Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was suspended one year for racist and insensitive comments.

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was suspended three times: two years for illegal contributions to President Nixon’s 1972 campaign; one week after publicly criticizing umpires; and two years and five months for paying a gambler to dig up disparaging information on All-Star outfielder Dave Winfield. That last suspension originally was announced as a lifetime ban; Steinbrenner was later reinstated.

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Kay, who provided Skaggs with counterfeit oxycodone pills that were laced with fentanyl, is serving a 22-year sentence in federal prison. Skaggs died in his hotel room in Texas of asphyxiation, according to an autopsy, choking on his own vomit while under the influence of oxycodone, fentanyl and alcohol.

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Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell defends choice to keep Carson Wentz in blowout loss for prolonged period

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Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell defends choice to keep Carson Wentz in blowout loss for prolonged period

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The Los Angeles Chargers dominated the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night. The 37-10 defeat dropped the Vikings’ record to 3-4. 

But much of the postgame chatter focused on coach Kevin O’Connell’s decision not to pull quarterback Carson Wentz from the blowout. 

Wentz was dealing with some discomfort in his non-throwing shoulder. He was sacked five times on Thursday, which appeared to further aggravate the shoulder he was already nursing. The shoulder issue, coupled with the scoreboard, raised concerns about keeping the veteran quarterback on the field longer than many perceived as necessary.

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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell interacts with Carson Wentz (11) on the sideline during the first half of a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

Wentz was noticeably grimacing throughout the majority of the game.  

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After the game, O’Connell explained his decision to stick with Wentz for most of the game.

“We kept on checking in [with Wentz],” the coach told reporters. “Maybe getting Max [Brosmer] ready to go. Tyler [vice president of player health and performance, Tyler Williams] was coming to me a lot tonight, but every time he seemed to update me on that. Carson was sore going into it. He took obviously quite a few hits—but he was able to—I asked him multiple times where he was at and he said he was good and wanted to keep going.”

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Carson Wentz looks to pass

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) drops back to pass against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

“It did seem like he was in pain there a couple times.”

J.J. McCarthy was inactive Thursday. The second-year quarterback started the first two games of the season but has been sidelined since then with an ankle injury. 

Kevin O'Connell looks on during a game

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell during the second half at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

O’Connell did note that McCarthy would return to the starting lineup against the Detroit Lions in Week 9 if he is fully recovered, the NFL Network reported.

Game cameras showed Wentz slamming his helmet on the Vikings’ sideline out of apparent frustration. Wentz later made it clear that the injury ultimately did not hamper his throwing ability. 

“I don’t think so,” Wentz said. “I don’t think throwing wise. That’s honestly why I felt confident to go. I felt I could do my job. I thought I could throw the ball. Thankfully, you don’t need your left shoulder all that much to throw the football. So mechanically, throwing wise, I felt like I could do everything I needed to do.”

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Reserve quarterback Max Brosmer briefly entered Thursday’s contest, completing three of his four pass attempts in the fourth quarter.

O’Connell acknowledged that he had considered inserting the rookie signal-caller earlier in the game.

“Yeah we did,” O’Connell said. “Carson’s a veteran player. He understands, kind of, some of our circumstances tonight. I think it’s very difficult to ask a rookie to go in there for his first performance and have to be kind of weathering it a little bit for the group.

“I did think about that at different times in the game but at the same time, the confidence we have in Max and the upside we see in Max is real. You also don’t want to send him out there and force a level of figure-it-outness that’s probably beyond a guy playing for the first time.”

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The Vikings have now dropped back-to-back games.

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