Murtaza Ahmadi, the six-year-old Lionel Messi fan from Afghanistan who made headlines this year after being photographed wearing a replica of Messi's Argentina jersey made out of a plastic bag, didn't have to wait for long to see his dream come true. He did get to meet the Argentina football legend as well as got to spend some time on his arms on Tuesday.
La Liga giants Barcelona are in Qatar at the moment to take part in a midweek friendly-match against local side Al Ahli. Following the game, Messi and Co return to Spain on Friday ahead of their crucial Catalan derby against Espanyol on Sunday.
The match against the Al Ahli sports club is organised by Barcelona' principle sponsors Qatar Airways, which will be replaced by Japanese company Rakuten at the end of the season.
More than the match, the highlight of Messi's trip to Doha has already been his meeting with Murtaza. The 2022 Qatar World Cup organising committee posted a video on Twitter on Tuesday showcasing Messi's meeting with one of his biggest fans ever.
In February, the president of the Afghan Football Federation had already mentioned that Murtaza would get to realise his dreams at the earliest. Keramuddin Karim, the president of the Afghan football federation, then arranged the meeting between Messi and Murtaza in Qatar.
The six-year-old had to travel over 3,000 km from Ghazni province, where he lives, to meet Messi.
"Messi, you know how much I like you," Murtaza was quoted as saying by the BBC in the past. "So I want you to invite me so that I can come and see you." The Afghan soccer federation did try on their part to arrange a meeting between Murtaza and Messi in Afghanistan as well as in Spain, but that didn't seem to work out.
Check the video below
أخيراً مرتضى يلتقي بميسي! اللجنة العليا ساعدت الطفل الأفغاني على تحقيق حلمه في #قطر. #الاهلي_برشلونة pic.twitter.com/LFHau5wWMj
— Road to 2022 (@roadto2022) December 13, 2016
