Viral Photo Fact Check: Did Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play a game of chess amid FIFA World Cup 2022?

FIFA World Cup 2022 has begun, and football fans are not only keeping an eye on the game but also looking into the social media profiles of their favourite players. Since Cristiano Ronaldo shared an Instagram post showing Lionel Messi and him playing a game of chess, the visual has gone viral on social media.

Is it true that played the indoor game together? Wait, the images could be depictive. Despite the now-viral photo showing two football players playing the game together, in front of one another, fans suggest that the visuals have been edited.

While posting the image on his official Instagram page, Ronaldo made a point to reveal that it comes from a brand photoshoot for Louis Vuitton, however, there was no hint as to whether the together moment was truly lived or not. "We know it was photoshopped," netizens wrote in the comments section of this viral photo.

Taking a dig into the viral photo, fans shared a video from behind-the-scenes setup of the footballers being filmed. Alert fans noticed that the duo were in different rooms, and never made it to the chess board together.

The image circulated on the internet also claimed that Messi and Ronaldo met along for a chess game amid their busy FIFA World Cup. However, that isn't actually the case, as we know it's a mere brand partnership. While netizens speculated the image to be altered and shared on social media, there is no clarity or statement made by the brand or the footballers in this matter.