Was Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's iconic picture edited? Check out behind the scenes footage

An iconic image of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing chess took social media by storm on the eve of the World Cup on Saturday night – but the photograph may not be all it appears.

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The picture was taken by American portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz for a Louis Vuitton advert, but behind-the-scenes footage appears to show that Messi and Ronaldo were not together in the same room for the shoot.

In a video posted by Louis Vuitton on their social channels but later deleted, Leibovitz can be seen photographing both Messi and Ronaldo separately.

Behind the scenes of @LouisVuitton’s photo shoot by @annieleibovitz with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/qz2eFMVdgr

— Luis Miguel Echegaray (@lmechegaray) November 20, 2022

At no point are the greats together in the same, which means Photoshop or an alternative programme is likely to have been used to complete the iconic image – unless Louis Vuitton are planning another big reveal later in the tournament.

In the video, Messi and Ronaldo speak of their proudest moments as international footballers ahead of what will be a fifth World Cup for both players.

"The most memorable victory for me was winning the recognition of the Argentine people," Messi says.

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And Ronaldo adds: "When I won the first title for [the] Portugal national team."

The photograph is on course to be the most 'liked' image of all time on Instagram, with Ronaldo's post already having received in excess of 30 million likes.