With a career spanning more than two decades, Lionel Messi’s impact on football is no longer hypothetical; it can be measured.

From the countless records he has broken to the trophy cabinet that surely overflows at home, his legacy is tangible.

But perhaps nowhere is that legacy more evident than in the players who grew up idolizing him. As Barcelona’s biggest star from his breakthrough under Pep Guardiola in 2008 until his departure in 2021, Messi shaped a generation of Spanish fans and footballers.

Now, he is set to face many of them in the 2026 World Cup final.

Lamine Yamal

The story linking Messi and Lamine Yamal, widely regarded as the Argentine’s heir at Barcelona, is one of the most remarkable in modern football.

A photo of Messi with Yamal as a baby went viral in 2024 after the young player’s father shared it during the European Championship.

It was taken in 2008 during a photoshoot for an annual charity calendar organized by the Catalan newspaper Sport, the FC Barcelona Foundation and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The club and its foundation selected the players and children who would appear in the calendar, which also featured Andrés Iniesta, Thierry Henry, Carles Puyol and Gabriel Milito, among other Barcelona stars.

By pure coincidence, Messi — then just 20 years old — was chosen to pose bathing a months-old Lamine Yamal after his family was selected by UNICEF in the Roca Fonda neighborhood of Mataró.

Ahead of Spain’s Euro 2024 quarterfinal against Germany, Yamal’s father posted the image on social media, describing it as an “incredible coincidence.” It quickly went viral.

“I’ve grown a little, and so has Leo. I hope I get to face him sometime,” Yamal said at the time.

His wish will now come true on football’s biggest stage.

Pau Cubarsí

As remarkable as Yamal’s story is, it is not unique. Pau Cubarsí can also claim to have a childhood photo with Messi that he has no recollection of.

Born in Girona, Catalonia, in 2007, Cubarsí belongs to a generation that grew up watching Messi at the peak of his powers for Barcelona.

The defender burst onto the scene at just 16 in 2024, making his senior debut for the club before quickly establishing himself as one of Europe’s brightest young defenders with a Man of the Match performance against Napoli in the UEFA Champions League.

A photo of Messi resting beside a baby Cubarsí went viral in 2025 and was later confirmed by the player to be authentic. Little is known about how it came about, although some reports suggest it was taken during a club event in 2007.

What is beyond doubt is that Cubarsí also grew up idolizing Messi.

“It would be a dream to face Messi in a World Cup final,” Cubarsí said in 2023. “Having a chance to win it, and do it against Messi, it really would be a dream I’ve had since I was a kid.”

Dani Olmo

Dani Olmo is one of the few young Spanish footballers who clearly remembers meeting the Argentine star.

The gifted attacking midfielder grew up in Barcelona but took an unusual route back to his boyhood club, spending spells at Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia and RB Leipzig in Germany before returning to Barcelona in 2024.

The famous photo with Messi dates back to his early days in the club’s academy.

Olmo was eight years old when Messi visited the training ground in 2006. At the time, the Argentine was already emerging as one of football’s brightest talents, but he had yet to become the global icon he is today. 

Perhaps that explains why Olmo was less than enthusiastic about posing for a picture.

“I said something like, ‘No, thanks. I’m fine. I want to keep playing!'” Olmo recalled in 2021 after being asked to take a photo with Messi.

“Against my will, they put me next to Messi and took the photo,” said the player, whose facial expression in the picture confirms his recollection of the story.

Gavi

Perhaps the player who remembers his brief encounter with Messi best is Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, better known as Gavi.

The midfielder broke into Barcelona’s first team in 2021, only months after Messi’s departure.

In 2022, he admitted regretting not having had “the luck” of playing alongside the Argentine in an interview with France Football. He did, however, get the chance to meet him.

In 2015, shortly after arriving at Barcelona as an 11-year-old, Gavi briefly crossed paths with Messi and managed to snap a hurried photo in which he barely appears.

“For me, Leo Messi is the best, and wherever he is, that team will be the best team,” Gavi said ahead of the World Cup, adding that everyone who came through Barcelona’s academy during Messi’s time “looks up to him as a role model.”

On Sunday, the four Spaniards will have the chance to deny the player they grew up idolizing another historic achievement: a second World Cup title with Argentina.