Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo posed for photographer Annie Leibovitz for a campaign that trumpets Vuitton’s sporting roots.

Luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton has been a long time partner with the FIFA World Cup since 2010, when it was the trunk maker for the world’s most sought-after trophy: FIFA World Cup Trophy. The French maison’s affinity to the world of football culminated with its 2010 Core Values campaign featuring all-time greats like Pele, Maradona and Zinedine Zidane. These legends posed for photographer Annie Leibovitz and it spotlighted the brand’s monogram canvas bags.

Following the 2010 World Cup season in South Africa, which also saw Shakira’s song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” shooting into international fame, the House of Vuitton has released a new brand campaign, “Victory is a State of Mind”. Coming in a full circle, the new campaign was photographed by Leibovitz again and stars football icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Instead of competing on the football pitch, the eternal rivals have switched up to face each other on a game of chess. In the most Louis Vuitton-esque way, the duo used the brand’s Damier attache case as their chessboard and the campaign image broke the internet ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

With a combined following of about 870 million followers on Instagram, these two football stars regularly top the list of the most followed celebrities on the social media platform. Enlisting the help of athletes like Messi and Ronaldo is a no-brainer for luxury brands as luxury brands look to leverage the huge fan base that the sporting world has globally.

In addition to being the chief trunk maker for the World Cup trophy, Louis Vuitton also launched a capsule collection of football-themed leather goods. Iconic products of the brand like the Keepall and backpack are reinterpreted in black Taurillon leather and references to the sport were also made like how the leather tag is shaped like a football league bag and others feature five protective bottom studs resembling football cleats.

Happening from 20 November to 18 December 2022, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar is expected to draw an expected 5 billion people who will be tuning in.