BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • Trending

Afghan boy bags real Messi shirt - finally

  • Published
    25 February 2016
Share page
About sharing
Media caption,

Murtaza received a special package sent by Lionel Messi

By BBC Trending
What's popular and why

The Afghan boy who became an online hit after wearing a homemade shirt bearing Lionel Messi's famous number 10 has finally received the real thing - from the Argentine footballer himself.

BBC Trending helped to locate the child known as "Messi's biggest fan", five-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi, who comes from the Jaghori District, in the eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan.

Messi's management team confirmed on Thursday that Murtaza was sent a signed Argentina shirt and football from the Barcelona forward, who has been crowned the world's best player five times.

"I love Messi and my shirt says Messi loves me," Murtaza said - already perfecting his own goal celebration.

Media caption,

Denise Shepherd-Johnson describes meeting 5 year-old Messi fan Murtaza Ahmadi

The online search for the boy was sparked by a single photo that went viral, showing him wearing the homemade shirt made from a striped blue plastic bag, imitating the famous Argentina strip.

Claims initially followed that the boy was an Iraqi Kurd and that the Barcelona star wanted to find the young fan to give him a proper shirt.

But the source of the online rumours claiming that the picture was taken in Dohuk, Iraq, later admitted making it up.

Murtaza was finally identified as the boy in the picture after his uncle, Azim Ahmadi, an Afghan living in Australia, put BBC Trending in touch with his brother, Arif - the young devoted Messi fan's father.

Photo of Murtaza in his homemade shirtImage source, Twitter/joynaw5
Image caption,

Murtaza wearing his homemade shirt - which sparked the online search for the young fan

The Ghazni farmer confirmed his son was the boy who captured people's imaginations worldwide and added that Murtaza was "extremely happy".

Messi is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) and the agency helped to get the shirt to the boy, posting the picture of Murtaza on its Facebook page., external

line
Unicef Facebook postImage source, Unicef/Facebook
line

Follow BBC Trending on Facebook

Join the conversation on this and other stories here, external.

line

Messi also sent some extra shirts, which may now be snapped up by Murtaza's family, including his oldest brother Hamayon, who published the original pictures on Facebook, which then went viral.

It's not clear what's happened to the plastic bag, which may now have been retired.

Blog by Stephen Fottrell

Next story: Why are Iranians lip synching to political speeches?

Photo of Iranian actressImage source, Getty Images

As Iranians prepare to vote in key elections, supporters of reformist candidates have found a novel way to get their message across. READ MORE

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

Top stories

  • Families demand answers as Southport inquiry opens

    • Published
      1 hour ago
  • Poisoned water and scarred hills: BBC visits world's rare earths capital in China

  • Why Texas floods were so devastating

More to explore

  • How King Charles is helping to 'reinvigorate' the shaken UK-France friendship

    Index pic
  • 'PM to press Macron' and 'mushroom murders' trial

    The front pages of the Daily Mail and the Times
  • Poisoned water and scarred hills: BBC visits world's rare earths capital in China

    Large plumes of white smoke billow out of a large canyon in China
  • The doctor fighting for women's health on Ukraine's front line

    A doctor smiles as he takes a selfie with a woman patient inside a mobile medical unit. His hair is dyed the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, and medical paraphernalia is in the background.
  • Did US government cuts contribute to the Texas tragedy?

    A boat on a river in Texas with four rescue workers on board
  • From India to Britain and back: The cartoonist who fought censors with a smile

    Abu cartoon
  • 'Everyone knows somebody affected': The small towns in shock after mushroom murders

    A sign for Korumburra General Cemetery, with headstones and hills in the background
  • 200 million year-old flying reptile species found

    The image is an artist's impression of the ancient winged reptile that scientists have discovered at a site that, 200 million years ago, was a riverbed. The image depicts a creature with a long, pointed jaw and wings folded in at its sides. It has its clawed feet submerged in the water of the river and appears to have caught a small amphibian in its mouth.
  • US Politics Unspun: Cut through the noise with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher’s newsletter

    Anthony Zurcher with Washington landmarks and red white and blue stripes
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Emergency alert to be sent to smartphones in UK test

  2. 2

    'PM to press Macron' and 'mushroom murders' trial

  3. 3

    US delays higher tariffs but announces new rates for some nations

  4. 4

    Workplace misconduct and discrimination NDAs to be banned

  5. 5

    Families demand answers as Southport inquiry opens

  6. 6

    How King Charles is helping to 'reinvigorate' the shaken UK-France friendship

  7. 7

    Trump upbeat on Gaza ceasefire talks as he hosts Netanyahu

  8. 8

    Manchester Airport brawl CCTV shown to jury

  9. 9

    Hosepipe ban to be introduced across Yorkshire

  10. 10

    The Salt Path author defends herself against claims she misled readers

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Love and fatherhood in noughties Brixton

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Babyfather
  • Your new favourite offbeat, snappy US sitcom

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    St. Denis Medical
  • Step into the world of luxury holidays

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Billion Dollar Playground
  • The inside story of the Live Aid concert

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Live Aid at 40: When Rock 'n' Roll Took on the World
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.