The whole football world and fans were thrown into a wild emotion yesterday after arguably the most expensive and expressive picture presently on the planet earth emerged on the internet.
Having dominated discussions over who is the greatest footballer of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi starred in their first joint advertisement for luxury clothing brand Louis Vuitton and the whole world stood still applauding the ingenuity of the picture and the essence of the iconic stars
The picture shows the footballing icons playing chess on a luxury checkered suitcase.
The picture, which was shared by the pair on both their verified Instagram pages was photographed by the world-famous photography legend, Annie Leibovitz.
The two icons of football who have played as rivals on the pitch in the most interesting parts of their careers holding the universe spellbound with their unbelievable skills and gifts, teamed up to serve the world a captivating, emotional image that reeks of a masterclass, overdose of talents, great accomplishments, and power.
One must give accolades to the legendary photographer, Leibovitz who took this shot, for being able to contain the two Greatest Of All Time (GOATS) in one frame without causing a volcano.
The American portrait photographer is best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in inanimate postures and settings. Leibovitz’s photo of John Lennon and Yoko-Ono, taken five hours before Lennon’s murder, is considered one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s most famous cover photographs. She was declared a living legend by the Library of Congress, and she is the first woman to have a feature exhibition at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery.
The argument about who is truly the GOAT between these two would probably go on forever, but this iconic picture would always be a reminder of how blessed we are to have been able to witness these extraordinary talents in the history of the world. They break records for breakfast, score goals for fun, and create their own beauty with the round leather game. Their numbers are unbelievable, especially in the modern age of football where the competition is even more intense, nothing compared to the dark ages, the era of Pele and Maradona. It would be a thing of a surprise if there is any human who doesn’t know these two masters of the game.
The Argentine forward boasts of seven Ballon d’Or awards while C. Ronaldo holds five. The Manchester United player and Portuguese captain who has had successful spells at Real Madrid, Juventus however holds the magnificent record of the highest number of goals by any layer in the history of football, scoring 818 goals. The football Maestro also has an excellent for his country, Portugal scoring 117 goals, the highest by any senior international male player.
There are already chills among football fans with the possibility of these two facing each other in this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. But for now, the picture of these two superhumans together throws up so many expectations for the world cup/ Is this the last dance? They’ve broken all the records, but can they win a World Cup? Who wins the world cup? Ronaldo or Messi?
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Joseph Omoniyi
