Messi sends signed shirt to Afghan boy pictured in makeshift plastic bag top

A five-year-old Afghan boy photographed wearing a Lionel Messi shirt made out of a plastic bag has finally received the genuine article signed by the Barcelona superstar. Murtaza Ahmadi was handed the gift from the player after pictures of the improvised blue-and-white top with Messi’s name written on it went viral last month. He received the authentic top and a football from the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, after a worldwide campaign to track him down. The youngster has also been promised he will be given the chance to meet his footballing hero, although the details have yet to be finalised.

I love Messi and my shirt says Messi loves me

Murtaza Ahmadi

Murtaza’s brother, Homayoun, made the improvised shirt - that perfectly fit the little boy - and scribbled Messi’s name and No.10 in it. "We can’t even imagine buying the original Messi jersey,“ said 15-year-old Homayoun. "We just can’t afford it so, to make my brother happy, I made a shirt out of that plastic bag for him." The boy’s father, Mohammad Arif Ahmadi, a poor farmer from the central province of Ghazni, said he was overwhelmed by the response to the photographs. "We did not expect that we would get this kind of support from everyone. People from all over the world have been calling me to help get Murtaza a jersey and a football,” he said.

Murtaza can’t hold it. He is so excited by the news of meeting Messi. We don’t know when is it going to happen, but we are humbled by the response we got.

Murtaza’s father Mohammad Arif Ahmadi

lionel messi