Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup, forcing a literal changing of the guard on soccer’s biggest stage. 19-year-old Spanish phenom Lamine Yamal lifted the trophy while 39-year-old Lionel Messi walked off the pitch in what is expected to be his final World Cup appearance. Now, the sports memorabilia market is cashing in on their unbelievable shared history. Topps announced it is minting a 1-of-1 trading card immortalizing the legendary 2007 photograph of a young Messi holding and bathing an infant Yamal.
Key Details
- Spain captured the 2026 World Cup title on Sunday with a 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina.
- Topps confirmed on Monday it is producing a physical 1-of-1 trading card featuring the viral 2007 bath photograph of Messi and Yamal.
- The original image was captured by Joan Monfort for a charity calendar after Yamal’s parents won a local neighborhood raffle.
The collision of these two players in Sunday’s final sent the internet into overdrive. Topps capitalized immediately. The company formalized the upcoming release on Monday, making the official announcement just hours after the final whistle blew.
The photograph dates back 19 years to the locker rooms at Camp Nou. Yamal’s parents lived in the Rocafonda neighborhood of Mataró at the time. They won a local raffle that granted them a charity photoshoot with UNICEF. The session paired their baby boy with a 20-year-old Messi, who was just starting his own ascent to global superstardom at Barcelona.
Speaking at Fanatics Fest alongside Tom Brady, Messi reacted to the viral resurgence of the photo. He called the statistical odds of competing against that specific baby in a World Cup final “just insane.” The man behind the lens agrees. Photographer Joan Monfort told reporters the unbelievable trajectory of his 2007 image is better than any film script.