A 5-year-old Afghan fan of the soccer star Lionel Messi has received a soccer ball and two jerseys signed by the Argentinian athlete after the boy's admiration for Messi was made public on the Internet.
UNICEF Afghanistan posted a photograph of the elated Murtaza Akhmadi online on February 25, in which he is wearing an Argentinian soccer jersey that was signed by Messi.
UNICEF quoted the boy as saying: "I love Messi and my shirt says Messi loves me."
According to the UNICEF, Messi sent Murtaza the ball and jersey from the Argentinian team and FC Barcelona shirts through the UNICEF office in Kabul.
Murtaza sparked an international media hunt after a photo of him wearing a Lionel Messi jersey made out of a plastic bag, with Messi's name and the number 10 on it, went viral.
Additional video of Murtaza in his home-made Messi shirt also went viral and touched a chord with soccer fans around the world.
UNICEF quoted Messi as saying that he also would like to meet Murtaza.