Lionel Messi meets Afghan ‘plastic shirt’ boy Murtaza Ahmadi

An Afghan boy who gained online fame after a picture of him wearing a makeshift Lionel Messi jersey went viral has finally met his football hero in Doha, Qatar.

Murtaza Ahmadi was shown dressed in a blue-and-white-striped plastic bag with Barcelona and Argentina star Messi’s name and number etched in pen on the back in January.

The image, which garnered global attention after it was posted on a Messi fan site, sparked a manic search by fans to find the six-year-old from Jaghori, southwest of Kabul.

Now, almost 11 months later, a series of images and videos posted on social media by Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee Tuesday showed Messi and Murtaza meeting for the first time.

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“The image the world wanted to see. The six-year-old boy who dreamed of meeting his hero, #Messi, finally comes true,” the tweet accompanying one video said.

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Another video showed Messi reaching out to hold hands with Murtaza, who was wearing a Barcelona jersey.

Murtaza Ahmadi poses with the Barcelona team before its game against Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli.

Messi and his Barcelona teammates were in the Qatari capital to play an exhibition match against Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The Spanish champion won 5-3, with Messi among the scorers. Murtaza accompanied him onto the field as one of the mascots, and the boy posed for pictures with the team ahead of kickoff.

Barcelona is sponsored by Qatar Airways, while the Supreme Committee is responsible for delivering the emirate’s staging of the 2022 World Cup – the first to be held in the Middle East.

Murtaza Ahmadi, 5, gained worldwide fame after being photographed wearing a plastic bag with Lionel Messi's name on it. He and his family have fled rural Afghanistan for Pakistan after receiving threats, his father told CNN.

Murtaza wears the autographed Lionel Messi Argentina shirt given to him by the soccer superstar and UNICEF. He had been pictured in his native Afghanistan wearing a striped plastic bag with the star's name and number written on it to replicate a shirt.

UNICEF Afghanistan representative Akhil Iyer presents the thrilled Murtaza with his gifts from Messi, the Argentine star who plays for Barcelona.

Murtaza dribbles as a UNICEF staffer takes on the role of goalkeeper.

Murtaza points proudly to the dedication and autograph from Messi, who scored twice for Barcelona in their Champions League win over Arsenal in London.

Murtaza emulates his hero as he scores a goal wearing the Argentina captain's shirt.

Murtaza shows off his skills with his Messi-autographed football.

Murtaza holds the plastic bag that made him famous. His father, Muhammad Arif Ahmadi, told CNN the five-year-old's brother made it for him when he wouldn't stop crying. "I told him that we were living in a poor village far from the city and it was impossible for me to get him the shirt," he said.

"He kept crying for days, asking for the shirt, until his brother Hamayon helped him make one from the plastic bag to make him happy," Ahmadi said. "He stopped crying after wearing that plastic bag shirt."

The Ahmadis lived in Jaghori, southwest of Kabul in Afghanistan. Murtaza wants to be a footballer when he grows up.

The original image, posted to Twitter in mid-January, showed Murtaza from behind. Internet users shared the picture in a bid to discover his identity.

Messi, considered by many the best soccer player in the world, playing for Argentina in a recent game against Paraguay.

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Fleeing Afghanistan

Ahmadi was given two autographed shirts and a signed football from the Messi by UNICEF workers in February, a gesture his father, Muhammad Arif Ahmadi, described to CNN at the time as “one of the happiest moments” of his son’s life.

Related article Young Lionel Messi fan wearing plastic bag jersey found in Afghanistan

Arif said Murtaza’s brother had initially helped him create the makeshift plastic bag jersey as the family was unable to purchase a real one.

The Ahmadi family was subsequently forced to flee Afghanistan to Pakistan after receiving threats, Arif told CNN in May.

Visit cnn.com/football for more news and videos

Arif described receiving “20-30 unknown threatening calls in Afghanistan asking why I’m teaching my kid about football and not teaching him about the Quran.”