Spanish football prodigy Lamine Yamal says viral photos of him as a child with Lionel Messi were kept secret until now, fearing comparisons with the Barcelona legend would hurt his career.

Lamine Yamal says viral photos of him as a child with Lionel Messi were kept secret.

Photos of Messi bathing six-month-old Yamal with his mother, Sheila Ebana, emerged in 2007 and quickly gained global attention earlier this month. The images were part of a series of photos taken for a charity calendar organised by Catalan newspaper Diario Sport in partnership with UNICEF.

“Obviously, at the time the photos were taken, I had no idea what was happening at that age,” Yamal told Jijantes on Friday. “My dad saved the photos and they never came out, basically because we didn’t want to be compared to Messi. Nobody is upset about being compared to the best in the sport, but it’s something that can work against you because you’ll never be like him.”

As it happened, Yamal’s explosive performances for Barca as a left-footed winger who plays on the right have quickly drawn comparisons to the Argentine superstar. Having made his Barca debut at the age of 15 in 2023, Yamal has made over 50 appearances in all competitions this season, quickly gaining international recognition with Spain. Euro 2024 is the next big step, with Yamal becoming the youngest player to ever play and score in a European Championship. Yamal has also provided three high-profile assists as Spain progress to Sunday’s final, where they will face England.

Euro 2024 is where the next breakthrough for prodigy Lamine Yamal will be witnessed.

Former Barca coach Xavi Hernandez agrees that the inevitable comparisons are not helpful to Yamal’s development, but even he admits that Yamal – who turns 17 on Saturday – has “the light of Messi”.

A cropped version of one of the photos was first posted to Instagram last week by Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, with the caption: “The beginning of two legends.” And when asked on Thursday whether Messi had given his son his blessing, Mounir said: “Maybe Lamine was blessed by Leo. My son is the best in everything, not only as a footballer but also as a person.”