​ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGAArgentinian soccer legend Lionel Messi and Spanish football star Lamine Yamal are currently facing off in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final in East Rutherford, New Jersey — and a photo taken of the pair 19 years ago is going viral.Back in 2007, Yamal’s parents won a UNICEF raffle for a chance for their son to pose with the then-FC Barcelona newcomer in a calendar. In the photos, Messi, then 19 — the same age as Yamal is now — is pictured bathing the infant.“Honestly, looking at that photo is crazy,” Messi, 39, said during a Fanatics Fest press conference on Friday, July 17, which was translated from Spanish on social media. “Well, that’s life, right?”ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA“I took a photo with him when he was a baby, and now here we are facing each other in a World Cup,” the famed forward continued, adding that Yamal, who is now the star right wing of his old club, Barcelona, “is an amazing player, someone whom I follow closely because he plays for a club I love. I always wish the best for [FC Barcelona], and I always want the best for him. He is one of the world’s leading stars.”“At 19 years old, he has his whole career ahead of him and he has a great opportunity to achieve something historic, which we will try our best to ensure doesn’t happen this time.” he added. “But anyway, I wish him the best.”ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGAFor his part, Yamal has admitted he knows comparisons will be inevitable. “I respect him in the end for what he’s been, for what he is to soccer and if we ever meet one day on the soccer field there will be that mutual respect. He’s the best in history,” the Spanish player said on 60 Minutes in June. “We both know I don’t want to be Messi and Messi knows I don’t want to be him. I want to follow my own path and that’s it.”Read More From GlobeTom Cruise’s World Cup Opening Speech Divides Fans: ‘Cringeworthy’ ‘Schlock’Howard Stern Axed Fan Favorite On-Air Talent in Recent Round of Brutal LayoffsNolan Wells Update: Local Says Water Around Island Where Teen Died Will ‘Humble You’This story Lionel Messi Reflects on Taking ‘Crazy’ Photo With Baby Lamine Yamal: ‘That’s Life, Right?’ first appeared on Globe. Follow Globe on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.