Afghan 'plastic-bag' Messi fan comes to Pakistan

Islamabad - The father-son duo, who can only speak Persian, claim that they left Afghanistan for Quetta in search of a better livelihood, reports Geo.

Five-year-old Murtaza Ahmedi, who got worldwide fame after pictures of him wearing a Messi shirt made out of a striped plastic bag went viral on internet, is living in Hazara Town on the outskirts of Quetta in Pakistan with his father.

The father-son duo, who can only speak Persian, claim that they left Afghanistan for Quetta in search of a better livelihood, reports Geo.

Dressed in a shirt signed by the football sensation Lionel Messi himself, little Ahmedi said: "I am a left-footed football exactly like Messi".

His father supports his dreams. "I want my child to get all the opportunities that Messi did. I want him to become a football star someday."

After pictures of Ahmedi wearing a plastic Messi shirt went viral, Messi expressed his wish to meet his youngest fan. He sent him two signed shirts, which became Ahmedi's most prized possession, his family claims.

The Afghan football federation promised to arrange a meeting for them. An Afghan federation spokesman, Sayed Ali Kazemi, said they hope Messi can come to Afghanistan to visit the boy, otherwise they will arrange to send him to Barcelona.

• Pakistan