Lamine Yamal paid tribute to heartbroken Lionel Messi after Spain clinched the 2026 FIFA World Cup title.
Spain, on Sunday, July 19, lifted its second FIFA World Cup trophy, ending a 16-year wait, after beating Argentina in the finals.
The two best teams of the FIFA mega tournament failed to score a single goal in the 90 minutes, leading the match to extra time.
Ferran Torres, after remaining goal-less throughout the World Cup, scored the most important goal of the tournament in the 106th minute to seal victory for Spain.
Yamal tribute to Messi
Yamal, who was playing his first-ever World Cup finals, posted a carousel of his best moments from the World Cup finals at the New York New Jersey Stadium, East Rutherford.
The slides included a picture with the 2026 World Cup trophy, a wholesome moment with Sheila Ebana and his younger half-brother Keyne, and some PDA-filled moments with his girlfriend Inés García Santos.
The only picture in the carousel that featured someone else except his family and teammates was of 19-year-old Argentine captain Lionel Messi.
The image shows Messi and Yamal walking together on the field during the finals as they talk and exchange smiles.
The picture of the football legend with the rising star sparked fans’ reaction.
A user wrote, “The new generation is the ‘greatest of all time.’”
“GOAT father x goat son,” another added.
“Passing of the torch moment,” the third one gushed.
The fourth one commented. “Heir to the throne.”
Yamal did not only pay tribute to Messi in his Instagram post but was also the one who offered the eight-time Ballon d’Or award winner consolation and a warm hug after he struggled to control his emotions as he stood in front of Argentina’s fans' packed stadium.
It is worth noting that Yamal has now become the first-ever teenager to win both the Euros and the FIFA World Cup.
