Two of the greatest footballers of this era, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, on Saturday joined forces to produce one of the most iconic images in football history. The image was shared by both the footballers on the eve of the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, through their Instagram handles and the image simply shattered all social-media websites. While some called it “iconic”, others hailed it as the “picture of the century”, but there was a certain group of fans would worked out a crazy World Cup theory behind the picture.
The two legendary footballers can be seen playing chess together in the picture with both deep in concentration on what their next move would be. The image was sponsored by Louis Vuitton and it went up exactly at 11 PM IST on Saturday night from their respective Instagram handles. “Victory is a State of Mind,” read the post. The two posts garnered over 24 million likes since being posted. And while it was simply part of an advertisement shoot, fans have dug out the hidden meaning behind it.
The ‘LV’ briefcase on which Ronaldo and Messi are playing chess was part of the 2018 World Cup in which the FIFA World Cup trophy was presented ahead of the opening fixture and the final. For Messi and Ronaldo. the Qatar World Cup will be their last dance. While Ronaldo hasn’t confirmed yet, Messi certainly has. And fans feel that the very social-media post made by the two footballers hint towards a showdown between Argentina and Portugal for the final.
Here is how fans reacted…
A few days back, in his intervew with Piers Morgan on TalkTV, Ronaldo had opened up on his true feelings towards Messi and the rivalry they share.
He said: “Amazing player is magic, top… As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years. we share. So, I have great relationship with him. I’m not friend of him in terms of, what I mean friend is the guy who was with you in your house, speaking on the phone, no, but it’s like a teammate.
“He’s a guy that I really respect the way he always speak about me. Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always respect and they’re from Argentina. My girlfriend is from Argentina. So good. What I am going to say about Messi? A great guy who does great things for football.”