Everyone is talking about the photograph showing a twenty-something Leo Messi and a Lamine Yamal just a few months old taken almost 20 years ago. The Argentine has become the greatest footballer in history; the Catalan, the star of Barça and the Spanish national team. Both will compete this Sunday for the World Cup. The coincidence is so incredible that it has generated unprecedented attention. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani thought it was the work of artificial intelligence, and Jimmy Fallon, on ‘The Tonight Show’, dedicated his famous monologue to it.
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Media outlets from all continents are trying to locate and speak with Joan Monfort, the author of the snapshot. How was it taken? Whose idea was it? How did Messi react? What did Lamine say when he saw the photograph? A conversation between Joan Monfort and Joan Josep Pallàs, Head of Sports at ‘La Vanguardia’, reveals these and many other details.
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