Images: Joan Monfort

Some sports stories sound too perfect to be real.

Back in 2007, a 20-year-old Lionel Messi took part in a UNICEF charity photoshoot at Barcelona’s Camp Nou. One of the photos showed Messi holding and helping bathe a baby.

That baby’s name? Lamine Yamal.

At the time, nobody could have imagined the significance of that moment. Messi would go on to become one of the greatest footballers in history, while Yamal would grow into Spain’s newest superstar and one of the most exciting young talents the game has ever seen.

Now, nearly two decades later, the photo has resurfaced at a fitting moment. Messi has just become the all-time leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history, while Yamal, still only 18 years old, continues to break records and establish himself as one of the faces of football’s next generation.

It’s a remarkable passing-of-the-torch moment. One legend is adding the final chapters to an unforgettable career, while another may just be writing the first pages of his own.

The question now is simple: Could the same player Messi once held as a baby one day challenge the records he spent a lifetime setting?