As the 2022 World Cup draws near, global fashion powerhouse, Louis Vuitton, has launched a new advert starring football greats, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The photograph, tweeted by the French luxury brand this evening, was taken by American portrait photographer, Anna-Lou Leibovitz, showing both footballers engrossed in a game of chess.
The campaign, themed “Victory is a State of Mind,” is coming barely 24 hours left to the World Cup.
It read, “Victory is a State of Mind. @Cristiano and #LionelMessi captured by @annieleibovitz for @LouisVuitton. 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 campaign is currently on the top three trend list of Nigerian twitter with 28, 700 tweets under the label “Greatest of All Time.”
Messi and Ronaldo have dominated football for over a decade, winning 12 Ballon D’or awards. The Ballon D’or is an annual football award presented by the French news magazine, France Football to the world’s best men’s player.
Messi had seven with Ronaldo five, as both players have dominated the scene from 2008, Ronaldo’s breakout year with Manchester United till 2021, when Messi last collected the award. The current holder is Real Madrid and France forward, Karim Benzema, who won this year’s award in Paris.
As the World Cup begins tomorrow, both Messi and Ronaldo would be hoping to claim the one trophy that has eluded the duo since the beginning of their rivalry in global football. Ronaldo hopes to rewrite his name in history after his underwhelming performance this season with Manchester United, while Messi hopes to build on his new-found form in Paris Saint-Germain F.C (PSG).
While several mouths are wagging over how much this ad must have cost, it is worth remembering how one decade ago, soccer legends, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, and Pele were photographed playing foosball by Annie Leibovitz at Cafe Maravillas in Madrid, Spain.
All three of them were some of the most famous names to have ever won the number 10 shirt.
