Lionel Messi meets Afghan boy who wore viral plastic bag jersey of soccer icon

By Tommy Chalk - The Washington Times - Tuesday, December 13, 2016

In January, this image of 6-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi went viral.

Tremenda imagen. Un niño en Irak se las ingenia para jugar con la camiseta de su ídolo. The Beautiful Game. pic.twitter.com/O7iMtX1bhe
— Juez Central (@Juezcentral) January 16, 2016

That’s an image of a young Afghan wearing a plastic bag decorated with his favorite player, Argentine and FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. Messi’s foundation first reached out to the boy to send him a real jersey for him to wear, but Messi himself wanted to meet him. Due to the boy’s location and Messi’s incredibly busy schedule, it was difficult for the two to meet.

But during an exhibition game in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday, both Messi and Ahmadi got their wish. They finally got to meet each other.

Ahmadi was responsible for placing the game ball during the match. Prior to the start of the game, the two met, and Messi picked up the boy for some photos.

Dreams come true 😊😊

The heart-warming meeting of Murtaza Ahmadi and #Messi in Qatar

🔴🔵 #FCBinDoha #ForçaBarça https://t.co/riKC0AAS77
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 13, 2016

Messi and Ahmadi walked out onto the pitch together, and the young boy simply could not leave his side.

Ahmadi not only walked with the team, but he posed for the official match photo with Barcelona.

After placing the ball, Ahmadi immediately singled out Messi and ran to his side. The boy would not leave the pitch and had to be carried off by a referee. The episode brought smiles to both Messi and teammate Luis Suarez’s faces.