Lionel Messi recently reflected on a photo from 2007 that went viral years later — a picture of him holding a baby Lamine Yamal in a Barcelona dressing room. Speaking ahead of the Argentina vs Spain World Cup final, Messi discussed how the image's unexpected second life connects to the rise of sports tokenization.
The photo that circled the globe
The snapshot was taken during a charity calendar shoot at the Camp Nou. In it, a young Messi, then 20, cradles an infant in a tiny Barcelona kit. That baby turned out to be Lamine Yamal, now a star forward for Spain. The photo resurfaced during the 2024 European Championship and spread across social media, drawing millions of views and shares.
Messi said the image's journey from a private dressing-room moment to a global digital artifact shows how sports memories can take on new life online. He noted that the photo's virality was completely unplanned — no one involved could have predicted it would become a symbol of football's generational links.
Tokenization as the next step
Messi linked the photo's story to the broader concept of sports tokenization, where iconic moments or memorabilia are turned into blockchain-based digital assets. He argued that such tokens could let fans own a piece of history in a verifiable, tradeable form.
“The photo is already out there, shared by millions,” Messi said. “Tokenization could give it a formal, permanent place in the digital economy — a way for the people in the image and the fans to have a stake in its legacy.”
He did not announce any specific tokenization project tied to the photo, but described the technology as a natural fit for sports memorabilia that already has strong emotional value.
What tokenization means for fans and players
Sports tokenization typically involves minting digital collectibles — video clips, images, or stats — on a blockchain. Owners can buy, sell, or hold them, and the original creators or subjects can earn royalties on secondary sales. The model has gained traction in basketball, soccer, and other sports, though it remains a niche market compared to traditional merchandise.
Messi pointed out that the 2007 photo has no official digital version. “Right now it lives on phones and in tweets,” he said. “Tokenization could turn that chaos into something organized, with clear ownership and provenance.”
He acknowledged that the idea raises questions about who controls the rights to such images — the photographer, the club, the players, or the fans who share them. Those questions, he said, would need to be resolved before any tokenization effort moves forward.
Unanswered questions
Messi did not say whether he or Yamal have been approached by any tokenization platform. He also did not confirm if the photo would ever be minted as a non-fungible token. The Argentina vs Spain World Cup final is set to take place later this month, and Messi’s comments have sparked speculation that a tokenized version of the photo could be released around the match.
For now, the image remains a free-floating piece of internet history — one that Messi says could become a blueprint for how sports moments are preserved and monetized in the digital age.
