Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Lamine Yamal has opened up on his exchange with former FC Barcelona captain and club legend after the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Following the final whistle in the final, which Spain won 1-0 thanks to a Ferran Torres goal in extra time, Lamine quickly moved to embrace Messi and the pair exchanged a few words.
‘Thank you for everything’
It was a special moment for fans across the globe, many of whom saw it as a passing of the torch, given the constant comparisons between Lamine and Messi since the former broke through at Barcelona at the age of 15.
Shedding light on what he told Messi in that moment after having won the World Cup, Lamine revealed:
“I said thank you for everything you gave football. I don’t do things to look nice for the photo; that came from inside.”
The 19-year-old sensation also touched upon the viral image of Messi bathing him when he was a baby.
Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi after the World Cup final. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
On being asked why his father had not shared that particular picture for years, Lamine, in his usual confident manner, said:
“Because I told him not to. He put it on Facebook once and I told him to take it down. Comparisons were too easy, that was all people would talk about.
“I wanted to be Lamine; I didn’t want to be Messi. I just wanted to get where I could get. I asked him to wait. When I’m Lamine, do what you want.”
On the World Cup final
The Spanish international, who is a top contender for the Ballon d’Or, also reflected on the World Cup final against Argentina, revealing how he and his teammates were convinced that they were going to win after Enzo Fernandez’s sending off.
“We knew it was impossible they would score, and with the ball against 10, very difficult for us not to,” he said.
Lamine then gave an insight into how he thinks and operates on the pitch, explaining: “A full-back will have a coach who says: ‘OK, Lamine: what he does is …’ I think of him as a robot, trying to stop me.
“Robots can be almost perfect but a human will have something a robot doesn’t. Football is mechanised but there are players like me, Pedri, many others, who have that special spark.
“There’s a typical Neymar move when he stops, fakes, goes the other way: I watched so many videos of him. I try to play with opponents, ensure they can’t mechanise me, don’t know where I’m going.”
Lamine with his Spain teammates celebrating the World Cup triumph. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Explaining how he applied the same thought process leading to Spain’s winning moment, he added:
“I remember three plays in minutes 60, 70, 80 or thereabouts, when I took on the full-back. Every time, [Alexis] Mac Allister came over.
“If I had really wanted to go at the full-back, I would have gone at him fast; instead this time I went slower, carrying the ball, so that Mac Allister had time to get to me, Pedro [Porro] could arrive behind me and I could play it back.”
And that is what happened as space created for Pedro Porro allowed him to cross into the box where Nico Williams headed down to Ferran for the winner.
“We knew Ferran needed it,” Lamine said. “Well, everyone needs a goal in a World Cup final. If Unai Simon had scored, great. When it goes in, it’s spectacular, you feel you’re champions. You can’t explain the emotion,” he added.
“All I wanted was to keep playing. I never thought: ‘They might equalise’. There was a small push, a chance [Pau] Cubarsí cleared, but I was enjoying it.”