With the World Cup just days away from kicking off, McDonald’s—an official sponsor of the tournament—launched an ad campaign that brought together two Barcelona legends: the historic 46 year old Ronaldinho Gaúcho and young Spanish phenomenon, 18 year old Lamine Yamal. The video, filmed in cellphone format in front of one of the chain’s locations, shows them doing keepie-uppies with the official 2026 World Cup ball and kicking it toward the iconic golden letter “M” in the McDonald’s logo, used as a goal.
The result of the challenge left no doubt: Yamal narrowly missed his attempt, while Ronaldinho scored on his first shot without batting an eye. Ronaldinho himself posted a behind-the-scenes clip in his stories with the phrase that went viral, showing off his first-try success with the mischievous flair that defined him throughout his career. The contrast between the youth of Barcelona’s current star and the intact magic of “Bruxo” was enough to set social media ablaze.
In less than five hours, the video racked up 2.4 million likes, 64 thousand shares, and 20 thousand comments, becoming this World Cup’s first major advertising viral hit. Fans flooded the comments section praising the Brazilian and making friendly jokes at Yamal’s expense. The campaign also includes David Beckham, Thierry Henry, and Son Heung-min, but it was undoubtedly the generational duel between Ronaldinho and Yamal that stole all the attention.
Watch the video here: