“Taking the pictures was hard work,” said Joan Monfort. work out. “I can say that I shed blood, sweat and tears to get it.
“(Lionel) Messi is still shy. When he first started, he was much shyer, and he found himself in a plastic bath full of water with a little baby. And with his mother. At first, there wasn’t much interaction. It was difficult for everyone. But little by little, it started happening, and eventually, it turned out to be a pretty good picture.”
In December 2007, Monfort photographed 20-year-old Lionel Messi, who had just begun his legendary career at Barcelona four years earlier, and Ramin Yamal, who was just six months old.
The article was published in the 2008 charity calendar, organised jointly by the Barcelona Club Foundation and the Catalan newspaper Diario Sport, and the money raised went to charities including UNICEF and various NGOs across Catalonia.
Barcelona squad members pose for photos with children. Hundreds of families have participated in this initiative over the years, and most of the photos are forgotten except for the families of the children who cherish their personal memories.
By coincidence, Yamal, a future teenage star for Barca, is paired with an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Several photos from the shoot, including one of Messi cradling baby Yamal in a towel and one of his mother Sheila Evana washing her son, have resurfaced after they were posted to social media on Thursday night by Barcelona’s Munir Nasrawi, father of Yamal (the record-holder at 16 and representing Spain at this summer’s European Championships).
“It’s really amazing,” said Monfort. “Nobody could have imagined then that this little boy would become what he is now. And nobody could have imagined that Messi would become what he is now.
“We are talking about 2007. Messi was just starting out at Barça. Destiny plays an important role in these things.”
By December 2007, Messi had already won two La Liga titles and a Champions League title, but he was still just a rising star in a squad that included the likes of Ronaldo, Samuel Eto’o, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and Thierry Henry.
“They give you a list of 12 players: one per month,” Monfort said. “You have to take your time. Often footballers come to you and say, ‘Let’s go, let’s do it. I’m in a hurry. What do you want to do?’
“It can be a bit cold, especially when there’s interaction between two people who don’t know each other. Then again, when one person is six months old and the other is 20, it can be difficult, but it turned out pretty well.
“My mother helped me a lot. She really needed my presence, so the baby didn’t feel strange. Look for soft images. Something sweet and good.”
Ramin Yamal has become Spain’s revelation at Euro 2024 (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Monfort said he always tried to give copies of the photographs he took to each family, especially given that Yamal’s mother went to great lengths to drive him from Mataro, a town northeast of Barcelona, to Camp Nou.
“I always want to give them a photo, because they are so happy,” said Monfort. “The player may not be too worried, but the parents are very happy. They live in Mataró, 40km from Barcelona. No parent with a young baby would do that. They have to travel and wait until the player arrives, so everything is ready.”
Six and a half years later, Yamal started taking the train regularly from Mataró when he joined Barça’s La Masia academy.
Go deeper
What makes Ramin Yamal such a special footballer?
His development has been enormous. He made his La Liga debut in April 2023 at the age of 15, made his international debut in September last year at the age of 16, and is now a key player for the Spain national team that beat Germany 2-1 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
“The odds of this happening are one in a million,” Monfort said. “It’s really lucky.
Lionel Messi currently plays for Argentina in the Copa America (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
“It’s a bit more common now with people having their phones and sharing photos, but this is like the photo of Guardiola as a youngster carrying (former Barcelona and England manager) Terry Venables on his players’ shoulders and applauding them. When Venables died, Pep posted the image.”
This photo shows a 15-year-old Guardiola, then a La Masia student and Barça ballboy, later a Barça player and coach and now Manchester City manager. It was taken in April 1986. Englishman Venables was in his third year as coach of the Blaugrana at the time, and he was lifted by Paco Claus and Migueli after the team had won a penalty shootout against Gothenburg in the European Cup semi-final after being down 3-0.
Monfort still takes photos for Madrid-based Diario AS these days and was surprised when his former colleagues at Diario Sport contacted him after a photo of Messi and Yamal went viral.
“He asked me, ‘Is this my picture?’” says Monfort. “I said, ‘Yes.’ He sent me the picture and I said, ‘Who’s the baby?’ and he started laughing and said, ‘Ramín, Ramín.’
“He said his dad put it on social media. It’s almost unbelievable in sports. They just realized it.
“It was amazing, the whole thing. We took so many photos, so many images. Some of them will remain.
“I’m really happy that Ramin has grown into a football player and that we’re taking this picture. It’s especially great because football today is so much about money and power.”
Go deeper
Spain’s Ramin Yamal passes school exams ahead of Euro 2024
(Photo above: Diario Sport/Joan Monfort)
