FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Argentina star Messi plays against his younger self in new Adidas advert
Incredible commercial celebrates 35-year-old’s final World Cup
To celebrate Argentina star Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, Adidas have revealed an incredible new advert that features him playing against four versions of himself.
The sporting giants, who sponsor both the 35-year-old and the Argentina national team, released the stunning clip called “The Impossible Rondo”. They describe it as a celebration of the attacker’s World Cup career.
The advert features scenes of him from each of his outings at previous tournaments along with his modern day self enjoying a kickabout.
“Combining real footage of the Argentinian forward from 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018, adidas makes the impossible, possible with a one-of-a-kind Messi vs Messi rondo warm up,” read a statement from Adidas. “Created using the latest in artificial intelligence and VFX, the film showcases the last 18 years of the world’s greatest player, celebrating his achievements in an unexpected way.”
Body doubles
Adidas added: “Complete with his haircuts, Argentina shirts and adidas boots across the previous five tournaments, historical and present-day footage of Messi was used to produce the different, de-aged versions of him. This was then applied to body doubles to allow the ‘impossible’ warm-up to come to life.”
Qatar will be the Paris-Saint Germain star’s fifth and final appearance at the World Cup, with his first coming in 2006.
Argentina begin their campaign against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. They then take on Mexico before facing Poland in their last Group C clash on Wednesday 30 November.