5 yr old Lionel Messi fan compelled to flee from Afghanistan

Super_Cup_64 ‎by Олег Дубина CC BY-SA 3.0

The little fan of Lionel Messi, Murtaza Ahmadi, who had grabbed headlines after his photograph wearing a plastic bag jersey went viral, has been forced to flee from Afghanistan. The father of 5-year old boy, Mohammad Arif Ahmadi says that he had been continuously receiving threats from Taliban. He feared that his son would be kidnapped because he turned out to be an internet sensation because of his photograph wearing Lionel Messi jersey made of plastic bag.

In the month of February, a photograph of Murtaza Ahmadi went viral, in which, he was wearing a jersey crafted from blue and white plastic bag. And, it had the name, Messi and no. 10 written in ink at the back. The picture had moved the heart of many, including the Barcelona superstar. Lionel Messi decided to send a self-autographed genuine Argentina jersey and a football to the kid. Murtaza loved his gifts but the life of his family had become a misery after they started receiving life threats on phone from Taliban.

Therefore, Mohammad Arif Ahmadi decided to flee from Afghanistan and settle in Quetta city of Pakistan. In a telephonic interview, he said that he feared for the life of his family and hopes for a better life in Pakistan. He said that it had become miserable for the family to live in his hometown. He also added that he was not willing to leave but the threats were getting serious in nature. Initially, the family had moved to Islamabad, but it was not possible to survive there owing to the high cost of living. Then, they decided to move to Quetta.