Lionel Messi speaks out on 'crazy' Lamine Yamal baby photo as Argentina icon makes appearance in New York two days out from World Cup final

Lionel Messi

admits the viral photo of him bathing a six-month-old

Lamine Yamal

is 'crazy' as they prepare to lock horns in the World Cup final almost two decades later.

Argentina's victory over

England

on Wednesday night set up a mouthwatering showdown between the world champions and Spain in Sunday's final, which pits Messi against the potential heir to his throne in 19-year-old sensation Yamal.

And once their date with destiny was confirmed, a barely-believable photo of their astonishing encounter in 2007 resurfaced on social media this week.

The snap in question shows then-Barcelona star Messi, while carrying out a photoshoot for local newspaper Diario Sport and charity

UNICEF

, sitting on the floor to help to bathe the future Spain wonderkid in a blue plastic bathtub, before later cradling him while he's wrapped in a towel.

The pictures were posted on Instagram by Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraoui, in 2024 with the caption: 'The beginning of two legends.'

Two days before they meet in the World Cup final, Messi was asked about the extraordinary images of him with a young Yamal after appearing at Fanatics Fest in

New York City

.

Lionel Messi admits the viral photo of him bathing a six-month-old Lamine Yamal is 'crazy'

Messi is set to collide with Yamal in the World Cup final, almost two decades after he helped bathe the future Spain wonderkid as a baby

'That picture, it was crazy. Him as a baby, and now we are facing each other... so once again what a crazy picture,' the soccer legend said when asked by NFL icon Tom Brady about the photos.

'I just wish him the best of luck, and he's part of the Barcelona squad as well. We will try to give them [Spain] the best match possible, [but] Lamine is not the only great player that Spain has. So again we will give it our all.'

Before addressing the UNICEF photos, Messi described Yamal as 'one of the best players in the world right now.'

'He's only 19 years old and he has all of his future ahead. He has the opportunity to make history, but we are also going to give it our best,' he added.

Photographer Joan Monfort, who works as a freelance photojournalist for the AP, took the photos of Messi and Yamal in 2007 as part of a charity calendar produced by local newspaper Sport and UNICEF.

'I have never been a believer or thought that anything was destined to occur, but I am beginning to have my doubts. This is beyond all reasonable explanations,' Monfort said on Friday.

Luck dictated that Yamal’s mother, who appears in the calendar photo, won a raffle of families in the city of Mataro, near Barcelona, who wanted to participate.

Messi, who was 20 at the time, was seen cradling a six-month-old Yamal for a UNICEF shoot

Tom Brady asked the Argentina captain about the astonishing photos at Fanatics Fest on Friday

Yamal is now set to lock horns with Messi and Argentina in Sunday's World Cup final

Soccer destiny then deemed that her baby boy, who would become a star for Barcelona some 15 years later, was paired up with the Argentine who would become one of the greatest of all time.

Messi was only 20 when he met a baby Yamal, just a couple of years before he emerged as the greatest player on the planet.

At the age of 39, and while no longer playing in one of Europe's top five leagues, the Argentina captain is still proving to be the best in the world after inspiring his country to a second straight World Cup final.

Many believe Yamal will succeed him as soccer's new GOAT, nevertheless, after already helping Spain become European champions and winning three Spanish titles with Barcelona before he turned 19.