SUMMARY
- Lionel Messi's status has earned him a huge fanbase over the years, which transcends all borders. An idol as well as an inspiration for the little ones
- One such story is that of Murtaza Ahmadi. Born in the year 2011, Murtaza became famous in the year 2016 for wearing a plastic bag with Lionel Messi's name on it.
Lionel Messi’s status has earned him a huge fanbase over the years, which transcends all borders. An idol as well as an inspiration for the little ones, Messi has shared some heartfelt moments with a lot of kids throughout his career.
One such story is that of Murtaza Ahmadi. Murtaza is a young boy from Ghazni, Afghanistan, who has been an ardent fan of Lionel Messi. Born in the year 2011, Murtaza became famous in the year 2016 for wearing a plastic bag with Lionel Messi’s name on it.
In the year 2016, Murtaza asked for a jersey with the name of the former Barcelona superstar written on it. However, due to immense poverty, his father, Mohammad Arif Ahmadi, couldn’t afford one. But his brother, Hamayoon, decided to make him the shirt from a plastic bag with ‘Messi’ written on it.
It went viral overnight after his brother took a picture of him kicking around a soccer ball and posted it on Facebook. As written in Destiny, the photo eventually ended up reaching Lionel Messi. The Argentine superstar immediately sent Murtaza an autographed shirt and a signed soccer ball.
Murtaza had his dream come true moments months later when he was given the role of a mascot in one of Barcelona’s games against Al-Ahli in Qatar. There, Mustafa met his idol Messi for the very first time, and pictures and clips of their meeting went viral across the internet.
In a clip specially circulated for a long time where it could be seen, that Murtaza was not willing to leave the field and was carried away off the field by the game’s referee.
Where is Murtaza Ahmadi living now?
As one could ever imagine, Murtaza’s life has gone upside down. Following his interaction with his idol Lionel Messi, Murtaza’s family started to receive threatening phone calls and intimidations from the Taliban.
It has also been reported that the Taliban even attempted to kidnap Murtaza, believing that his family must have received money from the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. The Taliban even sent letters to Murtaza’s household and ridiculed him for gaining popularity in the media and also for having a connection with a non-Muslim man.
8-yr-old Afghanistan Kid Murtaza Ahmadi Who Wore Lionel Messi Plastic Jersey Forced to Flee Home By Taliban.
“Local strongmen were calling and saying, ‘You have become rich, pay the money you have received from Messi or we will take your son.” – Shafiqa, #MurtazaAhmadi‘s Mom. pic.twitter.com/LbFIhbeUHU
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) December 6, 2018
Murtaza’s father, Arif, said in an interview, “We went to Qatar so that Messi could do something for him, but he unfortunately did nothing for Murtaza. When I arrived, they said, ‘You have so much money with you, from Messi.'”
Upon seeing that Murtaza’s life is in danger, his parents send him to live with his uncle, who lives 170 miles away in the city of Kabul. However, the constant security threat in Kabul did put Murtaza’s life in danger yet again.
Currently, Murtaza lives in the city of Quetta, Pakistan, with the aim of leaving a better life over there.
