More than 10 months after Murtaza Ahmadi became an Internet sensation when pictures of him wearing an improvised Lionel Messi football shirt made from a plastic bag went viral, the six-year-old Afghan boy finally got to meet his idol.
Murtaza yesterday found himself in the arms of the Argentina and Barcelona star in Doha, where the Spanish champions were set to play a friendly against Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli. Murtaza, whose family was forced to flee Afghanistan for Pakistan in May, said about the meeting made possible by Qatar's 2022 World Cup organisers:
"I am very happy to have met my hero. It is a dream for me."