Afghan boy who wore plastic bag 'Messi' shirt gets signed jersey from soccer star
Updated: 2016-02-26 09:42
(Agencies)
|
||||||||
Five-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi has finally had his wish come true and received a signed Lionel Messi shirt.
The little Afghan boy captured people's hearts after a picture of him wearing a blue and white striped plastic bag as a football shirt went viral.
Messi who is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador saw the images of Murtaza trending on social media and contacted UNICEF to help identify him and make his dream of owning a real shirt come true.
"We can't even imagine buying the original Messi jersey. We just can't afford it so, to make my brother happy, I made a shirt out of that plastic bag for him." said Murtaza's older brother.
The family come from a remote village in the war-torn province of Ghazni in Afghanistan. Murtaza is just one in 43 million children to be trapped in emergencies worldwide.
The Barcelona legend sent the Argentina national team shirt and a FC Barcelona one, both signed with a special message saying “Con mucho cariño, Leo” meaning “With much love, Leo” and also included a signed football with “Leo” written on it.
”I love Messi and my shirt says Messi loves me," Murtaza said, clearly thrilled with his gifts seen in these new pictures taken by Unicef proudly showing off the new signed jerseys and ball.
- Venezuela, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia to meet to stabilize oil market
- Gunman kills up to four in Kansas shooting spree
- Apple fights back in court, refusing to hack into iPhone for FBI
- Chinese may pursue Paramount stake
- S. Korea, US to launch working group on THAAD
- All bodies of plane crash victims recovered in Nepal
- Rural e-commerce developed to promote local products in SW China
- Things you should know about the 2016 G20 meeting
- Walk down memory lane: Rural China in 1980s
- A woman's artistic life
- Milan fashion week opens with eclectic, embellished looks
- Plastic-shirted Afghan boy gets signed jersey from Messi
- Stolen Buddha head finally returns home
- Adele steals the show at 2016 BRIT Awards
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
8 highlights about V-day Parade |
Glimpses of Tibet: Plateaus, people and faith |
Chinese entrepreneurs remain optimistic despite economic downfall |
50th anniversary of Tibet autonomous region |
Tianjin explosions: Deaths, destruction and bravery |
Cinemas enjoy strong first half |
Today's Top News
What ends Jeb Bush's White House hopes
Investigation for Nicolas's campaign
Will US-ASEAN meeting be good for region?
Accentuate the positive in Sino-US relations
Dangerous games on peninsula will have no winner
National Art Museum showing 400 puppets in new exhibition
Finest Chinese porcelains expected to fetch over $28 million
Monkey portraits by Chinese ink painting masters
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |