Behind-the-scenes footage of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous Louis Vuitton ‘chess shoot’ reveals that the footballing rivals were not present together when the photo was taken.
The image of the pair went viral last week, where they can be seen playing chess against one another on a Louis Vuitton handbag. The photo was shared by both on their personal Instagram accounts, as well as the Louis Vuitton official account. The caption on the latter read:
“Victory is a State of Mind. @Cristiano and @LeoMessi captured by @AnnieLeibovitz for @LouisVuitton. In addition to a long tradition of crafting trunks for the world’s most coveted sporting trophies.”
However, despite footballing fans losing their minds at the prospect of the two arguable GOATs in one photo together, behind-the-scenes video of the event revealed that the players were shot separately for the image.
Watch the BTS video below.
The footage shows both Messi and Ronaldo arriving to the shoot and posing by the chessboard alone, before being consulted by the photographer about the images. They were later interviewed about playing for the national team.
“The most memorable victory was being acclaimed by the Argentinian people,” Messi said.
Ronaldo responded, “When I won the first title for the Portugal national team,” in reference to their victory in the 2016 European Championship.
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Both also pointed out, “This will be [their] fifth World Cup.”
Lionel Messi’s Argentina are one of the favourites to win the entire tournament, currently riding a 36-game unbeaten streak heading into Qatar. The Paris St. Germain star will be looking to cap off his international career with a win on the biggest footballing stage of them all.
On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo’s fifth campaign is being overshadowed by his disgruntled interview bashing his domestic club Manchester United. Fans and teammates alike will be hoping that he can redeem himself on the world stage and bring back a maiden World Cup for Portugal.
Louis Vuitton products
The two generational footballing rivals also discussed their favourite Louis Vuitton products.
“My favourite Louis Vuitton article is the carry-on suitcase, ” Messi explained, “I travel a lot, so I love it.”
“It’s the horizon bag,” Ronaldo said, “It’s something that I use all the time when I travel, and I can pack all of my stuff.” Clearly neither have been duped into buying a fake Louis Vuitton bag, as others have alleged!
Louis Vuitton have done a stellar job with the image, which may go down as one of the most iconic in recent footballing history.
But it would have been all the sweeter if the two had taken part in the shoot together, ahead of what is probably both their last World Cup. Imagine being a fly on the wall for that conversation.
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