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Trading card manufacturer Topps announced Monday it will produce a commemorative card based on a photograph showing Lionel Messi holding a young Lamine Yamal. The image gained widespread attention during the recent World Cup as fans discovered the two players had met years earlier, before either became a global soccer phenomenon.
The photograph was taken when Messi, widely regarded as soccer’s greatest player, participated in a UNICEF fundraising event while playing for Barcelona. At the time, Yamal was an infant. The Spain winger is now 19 years old and has emerged as one of soccer’s rising talents, following a career trajectory that mirrors his predecessor at the Catalan club.
The two met again on Sunday in the World Cup final, where Yamal and Spain defeated Messi and Argentina 1-0. The matchup marked a potential generational shift, with the 39-year-old Messi potentially appearing in his final World Cup while Yamal represented the next generation of soccer superstars.
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