When Argentina faces Spain in Sunday's World Cup final, it will be the first time Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal share a pitch as players. Their first meeting happened in 2007.
A 20-year-old Messi, then a Barcelona regular, was photographed cradling and bathing a five-month-old baby boy. That infant was Lamine Yamal.
The photos, taken by Joan Monfort, resurfaced after Yamal helped Spain win Euro 2024. His father posted one online, calling it "The beginning of two legends."
"It is a true miracle of destiny," Monfort told BBC Sport. "If you wrote this in a film it would not seem possible."
By age 19, Messi had scored 11 career goals. Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, has already scored 56 goals. He wears the names Lamine Yamal on his shirt, a tribute to two friends who helped his family financially when he was born.
He grew up in Rocafonda, a working-class neighbourhood in Mataro, celebrating goals with a 3-0-4 gesture, its postcode.
"If you don't have money, it's very hard to help your child play football," Yamal told El Pais. "My parents managed to make all that happen. It's something I'll never be able to repay them for."