Virat Kohli in awe as Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo posts iconic image with Argentina captain Lionel Messi on Instagram ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup 

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli put up a comment on Cristiano Ronaldo's recent Instagram post with his greatest rival Lionel Messi.

The legendary duo shared an iconic picture on their social media handles, with both engaged in a game of chess in a promotional picture for Louis Vitton. Looking at the picture of the two great rivals, the whole sporting world was in awe.

Indian legend Kohli wasn't any different. He left a comment on the Portuguese ace's picture, which read:

"What a picture 🔥👏"

The iconic duo have dominated world football for over a decade now. Between them, they have an exceptional 12 Ballons d'Or, 1604 goals, and 75 trophies.

The Manchester United forward has won five Ballons d'Or and is currently world football's top scorer with 818 goals for club and country. He has won numerous trophies with Real Madrid, Manchester United, Juventus and Sporting CP at club level. He also led Portugal to 2016 Euros and 2019 UEFA Nations League triumphs.

The Argentina captain, meanwhile, has won a record seven Ballons d'Or and currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain. He has helped Barcelona win numerous trophies, including two trebles and one sextuple. He also led Argentina to the 2021 Copa America trophy.

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Cristiano Ronaldo on his rivalry with Lionel Messi

The Portugal captain recently gave an explosive interview with Piers Morgan where he slammed his club Manchester United and manager Erik ten Hag.

While the interview consisted of many hard-hitting comments on different topics, Ronaldo heaped praise on his eternal rival. He said (via The Mirror):

"Amazing player, is magic, top… As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years. We share. So, I have great relationship with him. I'm not friend of him in terms of, what I mean friend is the guy who was with you in your house, speaking on the phone, no, but it's like a teammate."

He added:

"He’s a guy that I really respect the way he always speak about me. Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always respect and they're from Argentina. My girlfriend is from Argentina. So good. What I am going to say about Messi? A great guy who does great things for football.”

Both Ronaldo (37) and Messi (35) are currently preparing for what is perhaps their final appearance at the FIFA World Cup.

Ronaldo-led Portugal will begin their 2022 World Cup campaign against Ghana on November 24. Meanwhile, Messi-led Argentina will face Saudi Arabia on November 22 in their opener at the Qatar showdown.