A five-year-old boy from Afghanistan, who was photographed wearing a jersey made out of a plastic bag, will be meeting his soccer idol.
Murtaza Ahmadi captured the online community's hearts after pictures were published of him playing soccer while wearing the homemade Lionel Messi jersey.
The Afghanistan Football Federation said Ahmadi lives in war-torn Ghazni, southwest of Kabul.
"We do not have a football playground near our house and the only ball I have is punctured," Murtuza told Agence France-Presse.
One day, he asked his older brother to make him a jersey out of a blue-and-white striped plastic bag — in the same colours his idol Messi wears for the national Argentine team.
Murtaza Ahmadi plays football in Kabul on Monday. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
"I love Messi, he plays really well, and I love the shirt my brother made for me," Ahmadi told AFP.
His father originally told him he wouldn't be able to get him a jersey because they lived in a poor village too far from the city, according to CNN.
"He stopped crying after wearing that plastic bag shirt," he said.
Murtaza Ahmadi's father said the 5-year-old stopped crying after he started wearing the homemade jersey. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
Afghanistan Football Federation spokesman Syed Ali Kazemi told Spanish news agency EFE on Sunday Ahmadi will get to meet his idol who plays for FC Barcelona.
He said the federation had received emails from both Messi and the squad.
"The date and the venue is still not confirmed yet, but there are chances of Ahmadi flying to Spain to meet his idol (Messi)," Kazemi told Al Jazeera.
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