Lionel Messi reportedly abandons little Afghanistan boy who wore iconic plastic shirt despite meeting him
- Lionel Messi had met Murtaza Ahmadi in 2016 after the Afghanistan boy Murtaza wore a plastic bag shirt of the star
- Pictures of chap went viral in 2016 and Messi sent him a signed jersey and football
- Little Murtaza personally met the Argentine in 2016, but the father claims they received no assistance from the legend
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
Murtaza Ahmadi became famous in 2016 after a picture of him surfaced online where the little boy wore a plastic bag replica of Lionel Messi’s shirt.
The young chap met his hero after the picture had gone viral, but life has not remained the same for him since a pictures showed he had met the Argentine superstar.
It was gathered that the situation led to threats from kidnappers as well as the Taliban who claim he has been given huge sums of money by Messi.
Murtaza’s older brother Hamayoun had posted pictures on Facebook and it went viral capturing Lionel Messi’s attention.
The Argentina captain then sent a signed jersey and a football to Murtaza, a kind gesture which consequently lead to hostility from Ahmadi's neighbours in Jaghori.
Murtaza's father Arif told Bleacher Report:
"When I first saw the boxes I thought one would have toys for Murtaza and the other dollars, but no, a ball and a shirt.
"People started asking us if Messi had given us money. There were people who would walk around our house during the night. I was very disturbed."
Source: Getty Images
Arif further narrated how threats from the Taliban forced the Murtaza to seek asylum, a request which was rejected.
In December 2016, the Mutaza and family received an invitation from Qatar World Cup officials to meet Messi in Doha just before a friendly game against Al Ahli.
The family was delighted and hoped that meeting the multiple Ballon d’Or winner could help Murtaza seek asylum in the same way Cristiano Ronaldo helped Syrian refugee Zaid Abdul.
Arif added:
"We thought that by going to Doha to meet Messi, maybe he'd be like Ronaldo.
"We went to Qatar so that Messi could do something for him, but he unfortunately did nothing for Murtaza."
Murtaza left Qatar after achieving his dream of meeting his idol, but once again the family were targeted upon their return in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that following his brace in the Coppa Italia helping Juventus to defeat Inter Milan 2-1 in the semi-final of the competition, Cristiano Ronaldo is now officially the highest goal scorer in football history.
The superstar who clocks 36 in two days' time grabbed his first from the spot in the 26th minute while his second came as a gift after a communication breakdown between Samir Handanovic and one of his defenders.
Source: Legit.ng
