Lamine Yamal in Spain's red kit hugging Messi in Argentina's light blue and white jersey on a grass pitch after a match.
REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Pop Culture

Lamine Yamal Went Straight to Hug Leo Messi After the Game

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Lamine Yamal walked past his own celebration and went straight to hug and console Leo Messi after the game.

Lamine Yamal (#19, Spain) hugging Lionel Messi (#10, Argentina) on the grass after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final, with another Argentina player seated on the ground nearby.
Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi share an embrace on the pitch at New York New Jersey Stadium following the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final on July 19, 2026. Photo by Al Bello / Getty Images.

“I’m sorry,” Yamal told him.

Messi replied, “Congratulations, you deserve it even more.”

What a beautiful moment.

That exchange came moments after Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19, taking their second World Cup title and first since 2010. Ferran Torres scored the winner in the 106th minute, and Argentina finished with 10 men after Enzo Fernández was sent off late.

Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi hugging on the soccer field after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final
On the pitch after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final on July 19, 2026, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Spain’s Lamine Yamal embrace. Photo by Jeenah Moon / Reuters.

At 39, this was widely seen as the last World Cup for Messi, and likely his final match for Argentina after he’d already delivered the 2022 World Cup and the 2021 and 2024 Copa América titles. When the whistle blew, he stayed on the ground, near tears, while Yamal walked straight past his own celebration to console him.

In a post-match interview, Yamal described what passed between them: “He’s my GOAT, my idol, my everything. I went over to him and simply said, ‘I’m sorry.’ He congratulated me and said, ‘Congratulations, you deserve it even more.’ I gave him a kiss, hugged him, and tried to console him. Moments like that are bigger than football. Leo Messi will always have my respect.”

Lamine Yamal hugging Lionel Messi on the field after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina
On the pitch after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final on July 19, 2026, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Spain’s Lamine Yamal embrace. Photo by Jeenah Moon / Reuters.

The bond runs deeper than one night. Nineteen years before this hug, Messi held Yamal in his arms. In 2007, Yamal was about a year old when his family won a UNICEF charity photoshoot and a young Barcelona star named Lionel Messi cradled him. Those photos resurfaced in the days before the final, and Messi called the coincidence “incredible.”

Both came through Barcelona’s La Masia academy. Yamal, 19, now holds a Euro 2024 title and a World Cup, and bookmakers immediately installed him as a leading Ballon d’Or contender.

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