This rare Royal Oak is the Lionel Messi x Travis Scott Linkup we needed

Lionel Messi is the GOAT on the football field and when it comes to watches, he might just be one of them also the biggest collectors of the beautiful game. In its range you will find Rolex Yacht-Masters, Daytonas and Datejusts; and if he does not raise the crown, he crushes hard Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks.

Over the years, Messi has often used the Royal Oak Jumbo and chronograph, and we recently clocked a rare sighting of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack” – the limited edition Travis Scott-designed timepiece. In a photo shared on his personal Instagram with 504 million followers, Messi posed next to his wife Antonela Roccuzzo, wearing the hard-to-obtain RO, which is distinguished by its tan color.

Scott knows a thing or two about collaborations. In the studio he has worked with Drake, Beyonce21 Savage and James Blake. And creatively he is connected to it Diorand so does Nike. But last year he checked an AP tie-in off his bucket list with an edition of 200 brown ceramics (a first for the brand) Royal Oaks. These bad boys, nicknamed the ‘Chocolate AP’, sold for $201,000, and are now going for double that on the secondary market. And Messi is in good watch nerd company too, along with Orlando Bloom, Lil Baby, Ed Sheeranand Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who all managed to get the rare release.

Messi is wearing the Travis Scott Royal Oak, tying into the whole AP cultural crossover thing that has done well. Scott’s Royal Oak wasn’t the first time AP worked with a musician on a limited edition release. Audemars cooperated around 2005 Jay Z at a set of 20 Royal Oak Offshores to celebrate the rapper’s 10th year in music. And in 2013 it cooperated Le Bron James on one Offshore Chronograph.

As for Messi’s choice to wear Scott’s watch, could there be something else going on? Maybe. Scott has released an Argentina-inspired football shirt to promote his Circus Maximus tour, clearly showcasing the country’s football heritage. And in “Meltdown” Scott shouts out the footie legend with the lyrics “The boy going Lionel Messi, I go Tom Brady.”

While Scott shows love for the legendary player in his lyrics and merchandise, Messi wears the “Cactus Jack” Royal Oak He may return the favor. Either way, it’s an old-fashioned case of respecting the real thing, which is what we like to see.

This story originally appeared on British GQ.