Messi and Ronaldo pose in an iconic photo for a Louis Vuitton campaign

For close to two decades, two names have dominated the world of football; and no prize for guessing those are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Hours have been spent, countless articles have been written to put to rest the debate about who among the two is the GOAT—Greatest of all time. . While their fans hope that their last dance—the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar results in them settling this debate once and for all, the two legends decided to take their battle onto a different field. 

The two broke the internet by posing in a photo for Louis Vuitton that dropped on the eve of the tournament. With many hailing it as the “picture of the century”, we see both players photographed sitting opposite each other at a chess board placed on a Louis Vuitton briefcase.

Both Ronald and Messi took to their Instagram accounts to announce the paid partnership, with the caption: ‘Victory is a state of mind.’

Louis Vuitton adds: "In addition to a long tradition of crafting trunks for the world’s most coveted sporting trophies, the Maison celebrates two of the most talented football players today.” 

The LV briefcase on which Ronaldo and Messi are playing chess was used to present the FIFA World Cup trophy ahead of the opening fixture on Sunday and the final during the 2018 World Cup.

The post also sent chess fans into frenzy with many noticing the position of the pieces on the board. Ronaldo and Messi are looking at a position from the game Carlsen-Nakamura, Norway Chess 2017. It was GM Magnus Carlsen's second GM Peter Heine Nielsen, who first pointed it out on Twitter. Carlsen commented on that tweet and the photo: "Second greatest rivalry of our time mimicking the greatest."

Could this photo be a teaser of what’s in store for football fans in Qatar? It’ll certainly be a fantastic final should Argentina take on Portugal on December 18. Will the debate be put to rest that day, there’s only one way to find out.