Lamine Yamal has revealed the words exchanged with Lionel Messi moments after Spain’s 2026 FIFA World Cup final victory, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian. The 19-year-old winger embraced the Barcelona legend following the final whistle, when Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 through a Ferran Torres goal in extra time.
Yamal’s message to Messi: gratitude over optics
When asked what passed between him and Messi in that embrace, Yamal was direct: “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 moment resonated globally as a symbolic passing of the torch, given years of comparison between the two Barcelona wingers. Yet Yamal has long resisted that narrative. He addressed the now-famous image of Messi bathing him as an infant, explaining why his father kept it private for years: “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.”
His reasoning was clear. “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.”
How Argentina’s numerical disadvantage shaped Spain’s approach
Reflecting on the final itself, Yamal revealed the squad’s confidence after Enzo Fernández received his red card. “We knew it was impossible they would score, and with the ball against 10, very difficult for us not to,” he said. That advantage proved decisive in the closing stages.
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The Ballon d’Or contender then unpacked his on-pitch mentality—one shaped by studying players like Neymar and built on unpredictability. “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.”
He continued: “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.”
The build-up to Spain’s winning goal
Yamal’s role in the winning play showcased this philosophy in practice. Around minutes 60, 70, and 80, he repeatedly took on Argentina’s full-back, drawing midfielder Alexis Mac Allister across the pitch each time. “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.”
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That measured approach created the decisive space. Porro’s resulting cross found Nico Williams, who headed down for Ferran Torres to finish. “We knew Ferran needed it,” Yamal reflected. “Well, everyone needs a goal in a World Cup final. When it goes in, it’s spectacular, you feel you’re champions. You can’t explain the emotion.”
Throughout the closing stages, Yamal’s mindset never wavered. “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.”
