​Sympathisers of terrorist group ISIS have been threatening football stars by use of chilling photoshopped images as of late in an attempt to instill a sense of fear in fans who plan to take in next year’s World Cup in Russia.

On Sunday, a new image began doing the rounds on social media, showing Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo on his knees nursing a black eye, supposedly about to be executed.

The photo was accompanied by the caption: “Our words are what you see not what you hear. So just you wait, we are waiting too”.

​​This follows similar horrifying images displaying Lionel Messi and Neymar. In one of the photos, Messi is pictured behind bars with blood running from his eye, while another shows both Messi and former teammate Neymar, with the former lying on the ground while Neymar is on his knees.

​​Fans, though, have hit back at the pro-terrorism group with images of their own.

We can expect heightened levels of security when the tournament kicks off in Russia next summer. And hopefully, the threats will remain as just that and nothing more.