A young fan got to meet Lionel Messi during Barcelona’s friendly match in Qatar on Tuesday, and adorably, he refused to leave the player’s side when the game was about to start.
This 6-year-old Afghan fan met Lionel Messi and refused to leave his side before a game
A picture of Murtaza Ahmady wearing a Messi kit made out of a plastic bag went viral earlier this year, and he finally got to meet his hero in Qatar.
Credit: user OneBall22Players on r/soccer
That young fan’s name is Murtaza Ahmady, and he’s a 6-year-old boy from Afghanistan. Earlier this year, an image of him wearing a Messi Argentina shirt made out of a plastic bag went viral. UNICEF was able to track him down and Messi sent him a signed shirt.
But the Qatari Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy went a step further this week, paying for Murtaza and his family to travel to Qatar to meet Messi. He got to accompany his hero onto the pitch and no one objected when he joined in on the team photo, too.
Earlier this year, Cristiano Ronaldo was reunited with a fan who woke up from a coma when he scored. That story and this one are great reminders that, behind one of the world’s fiercest sporting rivalries, there are two great people who care about the kids who look up to them.
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